Mining the Coastal Barriers
Rutile is used as a pigment for paints, plastics, paper, and cosmetics.
It creates strong, lightweight titanium metal for aerospace, defense, and medical implants and is a key ingredient in welding rods.
Dredges were used along Budgewoi Beach, starting in 1966 and finishing in 1973.
Floating dredges pumped the sand slurry to a floating processing plant which used gravity (spiral chutes) and magnetic/electrostatic separators to separate the heavy rutile.
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Rutile dredge at Pelican 1974
To obtain the sand all vegetation was removed and bull-dozers dug a trench in which the dredge could float. The dunes were largely destroyed. After mining, little of the natural vegetation was replaced. The hind dune areas were planted with tea tree and the foredune area was planted out with bitou bush which is a South African plant that grows in clumps, out competes native plants and is easily eroded.
Budgewoi Beach Dunecare has been restoring the coastal ecosystem since 1995. You can learn more at http://www.budgewoibeachdunecare.com.au/