Hot on the heels of WMC's foray into the Corridor Sands titanium feedstock project in southern Mozambique, Melbourne-based Ticor has confirmed speculation that it is revisiting a large mineral sands project in South Africa.

The two companies' interest in Africa reflects strong titanium minerals prices (the market is expected to be in deficit going forward) and a lack of growth opportunities back home.

The Iscor Heavy Minerals (IHM) project, located in Natal near Richards Bay, is currently owned by Iscor, the South African steel group that controls 40% of Ticor.

Ticor looked at the project around 18 months ago as part of its ongoing search for a major mineral sands asset to complement its 50%-owned TiWest joint venture in Western Australia.

But the company's previous chief Pat Quinn walked away from a possible deal, signalling Ticor's desire for independence from its major shareholder.

Now a closer relationship between the two companies seems to be back on the agenda, following a visit by Rodney Ruston, Ticor's new managing director, to South Africa late last month.

"We're putting a strategic plan together to look at where Ticor is going in the next 10 years," Ruston said in an interview. "The previous managing director looked at this project some time ago and, for various reasons, it hadn’t proceeded. But, since we're going into a strategic planning process, I'm not ruling anything out, so I wanted to go and see it."

Having cast his untrained eyes over the deposit (he is a former coal man), Ruston liked what he saw.

"My immediate impression was that it looked good to me," he said. "But I've got some technical people who are still reviewing it. I would think in about two weeks time we'll have a fairly clear view on whether we are going to do anything with that particular project."

But could a deal over IHM lead to closer ties between Iscor and Ticor?

"Quite possibly, yes," Ruston said. "We have a board meeting [this week] and some of these issues will go to the meeting. After that we'll have a better idea of where we're headed."

Ruston said Ticor was also examining other mineral sand opportunities around the world.

"We are not ruling anything out," he said. "Every mineral sands project in the world is, for Ticor - in this early stage of the planning process - up for grabs. And we're ticking them off, moving them up or down the list depending on the information that we have on them."

Meanwhile, Ticor is pressing ahead with plans to divest its East Coast coal assets as part of the strategic focus on mineral sands.

It hopes to finalise the sale of 26% of German Creek in Queensland by the end of the year, with Anglo American tipped as the likely buyer. That company inherited a pre-emptive right, due to its earlier purchase of Shell's controlling stake.

"Whether they use that [right] or not is entirely up to them, of course," he said.

The group also hopes to finalise the sale of its 20% stake in the Warkworth coal mine in New South Wales by the start of next year.