Titania slag, produced from smelting placer ilmenite concentrates and used as a feedstock for TiO2 pigment production, contains low levels of radioactivity due to thorium and uranium. This study investigated the distribution and speciation of thorium in Rio Tinto Chloride Slag (RTCS), which contains an average of 170 ppm Th and 16 ppm U, using a variety of analytical methods from powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) analysis to bulk and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS and LA-ICP-MS), electron microprobe analysis (EMPA), quantitative evaluation of materials by scanning electron microscopy (QEMSCAN), Raman spectroscopy, microbeam synchrotron X-ray fluorescence (µsXRF) mapping, synchrotron Laue X-ray diffraction (LXRD) and synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Our data demonstrate that ∼99.4% of Th in the RTCS is hosted by a chevkinite-like Th–REE–Ti aluminosilicate containing an average of 8.05±0.64 wt.% ThO2. The Th–REE–Ti aluminosilicate occurs as acicular (∼0.3×12 µm) or tabular (∼5×15 µm) crystals in association with a Th-bearing aluminosilicate glass (0.41±0.35 wt.% ThO2) as infillings either in interstitials or along the fractures of the main Ti–Fe oxides of the sassite–ferropseudobrookite solid-solution series. The Th–REE–Ti aluminosilicate and associated Th-bearing aluminosilicate glass formed probably during the quenching stage of the titania slag production. LA-ICP-MS analyses and µsXRF mapping show that the main Ti–Fe oxides in the RTCS contain an average of only 0.32±0.60 ppm Th. Future pyrometallurgy operations that utilise Th- and U-bearing heavy mineral sands must consider their environmental effects and mitigate radioactivity. In addition, preferential acid dissolution of the Th–REE–Ti aluminosilicate in RTCS and other titania slags may be used to recover Th and REE for dual environmental and economic benefits.

A way of making local breeds more sustainable is to promote their products through individual or collective initiatives. Those initiatives can induce new points of view on the breed and lead to discussions or even tensions between stakeholders. We illustrate this statement with examples of French cattle breeds. Several kinds of changes in breeding goals are described in this paper, with the appearance of new challenges and/or new stakeholders linked to the development of strategies to add value to the breed. Then the several ways in which those changes occurred are explained. The situations analysed show configurations with easy consensus to build as well as situations of conflicts. Those case studies highlight the importance of the existence of arenas where the diverse points of view can be expressed. The role of the breed associations is then essential, but remains complex as, in some cases, breeding goals are strongly discussed. The question of the orientation of the breed then becomes a key question when initiatives to add value to local breeds are taken. New choices of add value generally have important consequences on the definition of breeding goals.