[8] This coexistence may result in exsolution lamellae in cooled ilmenites with more iron in the system than can be homogeneously accommodated in the crystal lattice.

[18][19] Ilmenite alters or weathers to form the pseudo-mineral leucoxene, a fine-grained yellowish to grayish or brownish material[8][20] enriched to 70% or more of TiO2.

[23] Magnesian ilmenite is formed in kimberlites as part of the MARID association of minerals (mica-amphibole-rutile-ilmenite-diopside) assemblage of glimmerite xenoliths.

[24] Manganiferous ilmenite is found in granitic rocks[16] and also in carbonatite intrusions where it may also contain anomalously high amounts of niobium.

Ilmenite is commonly processed to obtain a titanium concentrate, which is called "synthetic rutile" if it contains more than 90 percent TiO2, or more generally "titaniferous slags" if it has a lower TiO2 content.

However, ilmenite can also be recovered from "hard rock" titanium ore sources, such as ultramafic to mafic layered intrusions or anorthosite massifs.

The ilmenite in layered intrusions is sometimes abundant, but it contains considerable intergrowths of magnetite that reduce its ore grade.

Ilmenite from anorthosite massifs often contain large amounts of calcium or magnesium that render it unsuitable for the chloride process.

The largest ilmenite deposits are in South Africa, India, the United States, Canada, Norway, Australia, Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan.

[40] Australia was the world's largest ilmenite ore producer in 2011, with about 1.3 million tonnes of production, followed by South Africa, Canada, Mozambique, India, China, Vietnam, Ukraine, Norway, Madagascar and United States.

China is also the leader in the production of titanium metal, but Japan, the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan have emerged as important contributors to this field.

Chinese companies Pangang and Lomon Billions Groups are the main contributors and hold diversified patent portfolios covering both pre-treatment and the processes leading to a final product.

The starting materials are purified if needed, and then converted to titanium metal by a chemical reduction process using a reducing agent.

Pangang also contributes to titanium metal production and holds patents describing reduction by molten salt electrolysis.

[46] Ilmenite has been targeted for ISRU water and oxygen extraction due to a simplistic reduction reaction which occurs with CO and H2 buffers.