Iluka is the world's largest producer of zircon, which is used...

Iluka is the world's largest producer of zircon, which is used in ceramics. Demand for zircon remained strong in the second quarter, Iluka said, and was expected to increase in coming months. "Iluka is of the view that, in the absence of a deterioration in global economic conditions, the demand outlook for zircon in 2017 and 2018 is for moderate growth," the company said.

Iluka said it believed it was the only zircon player with "significant inventories" and it would sell to meet customer demand "rather than fuel speculative trading", which would provide pricing stability.

In June Iluka announced it planned to restart mining in December at its Jacinth-Ambrosia project in South Australia in response to better market conditions.

The miner also produces the titanium dioxide feedstocks rutile and synthetic rutile, primarily used to make pigments for paint, for which it said it also expected demand to remain strong for the remainder of the year.

The positive outlook comes after similar market commentary from Rio Tinto, Base Resources, and Ireland's Kenmare Resources, which Shaw and Partners analyst Peter O'Connor said reflected "the first time in five years that [mineral sands] is starting to look quite robust across the board".