Rio Tinto's iron and titanium business comprises the wholly owned QIT-Fer et Titane (QIT) in Canada and the 50 per cent interest in Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) in South Africa. Both operations smelt ilmenite, which is a titanium and iron-bearing ore.

The primary product is titanium dioxide feedstock, a non-toxic compound used in the manufacture of white pigment. More than 90 per cent of the world's titanium-bearing minerals are used to make pigment for paints and surface coatings, plastics and paper. RBM is the trading name for two companies: Tisand (Rio Tinto 49 per cent), which mines heavy mineral sands, and Richards Bay Iron & Titanium (Rio Tinto 51 per cent), which smelts ilmenite to produce titanium dioxide feedstock and pig iron.

Zircon and rutile are separated and sold in their mineral form. RBM's ilmenite has a low alkali content which makes the titanium dioxide feedstock suitable for the chloride process.