Having been first produced commercially as recently as the 1940s, titanium is sees as a relatively 'new metal'. Since then, titanium has come to be used for many different and important purposes due to its light weight (low density) and high strength.
Titanium is a lightweight, strong and rust-resistant silver-white metal. Pure titanium is quite soft but titanium alloys are extremely strong (even stronger than steel and aluminium). Titanium has a very high melting point and is non-toxic which makes it useful for surgical implants such as pacemakers, artificial joints and bone pins. Titanium is also used to manufacture chlorine.
Unless you have a heart pacemaker, ride an expensive bicycle, or play a sport that uses titanium-based equipment, your most likely contact is not with titanium metal but with titanium dioxide which is mostly used in paints, paper, toothpaste or sunscreen, or food with colouring, like Smarties. Titanium dioxide is one of the whitest, brightest substances known.
As humans continue to explore space, titanium's light weight combined with great strength, rust resistance and very high melting point make it ideal for use in aircraft engines, spacecraft, missiles, cars, sports equipment (such as racing yacht parts, golf clubs, tennis racquets and bike frames), wrist watches, underwater craft, and general industrial equipment.
Titanium was named in 1795 by a German chemist, after the Titans of Greek mythology who were very strong. Work in the 1940s demonstrated a method for titanium production on a laboratory scale, however, it took nearly a decade more before it could be adapted for large-scale production. In 1948, DuPont opened the first significant manufacturing operation in America.
Rutile (a rich source of titanium dioxide and is usually found as part of mineral sand deposits, is used for the production of titanium metal) and ilmenite (the main source of titanium dioxide) are found in mineral sand deposits associated with modern and ancient beaches and dunes on the east, west and southern coastlines of Australia. Victoria hosts the greatest share of known rutile resources with just over 50% while Western Australia hosts just under 50% of known ilmenite resources. Internationally, Australia hosts around 40% of global rutile resources (compared to Kenya (24%), South Africa (15%) and India (14%)) and 19% of global ilmenite resources (compared to China (27%), India (11%) and South Africa (9%)). Australia accounts for around 13% of the global production of ilmenite. Other leading ilmenite producers include China (16%) and Vietnam (10%). Australia produces around 30% of the world’s rutile followed by Sierra Leone (23%).
Despite Australia's riches in mineral sand resources, because they are mainly located at or near the coast, their mining competes with other land uses such as agriculture, national parks, urban or tourist development and recreation. Allocation of land to other uses has rendered some mineral sands resources inaccessible to exploration or mining. Geoscience Australia estimates that around 44% of ilmenite and 26% of rutile are unavailable for mining.
Resource: https://www.ga.gov.au/education/classroom-resources/minerals-energy/australian-mineral-facts/titanium