It is a light, strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant (including to sea water and chlorine) transition metal with a grayish color. Titanium can be alloyed with iron, aluminium, vanadium, molybdenum, among other elements, to produce strong lightweight alloys for aerospace (jet engines, missiles, and spacecraft), military, industrial process (chemicals and petro-chemicals, desalination plants, pulp, and paper), automotive, agri-food, medical (prostheses, orthopaedic implants, dental implants), sporting goods, jewelry, and other applications. Titanium was discovered in England by William Gregor in 1791 and named by Martin Heinrich Klaproth for the Titans of Greek mythology.

In Kenya, it occurs within a number of mineral deposits, principally rutile and ilmenite, which are widely distributed at the Coastal region, and it is found in almost all living things, rocks, water bodies, and soils. The metal is extracted from its principal mineral ores via the Kroll process, or the Hunter process. Its most common compound, titanium dioxide, is used in the manufacture of white pigments.
Tiomin Resources Inc. of Canada holds licenses for the Kilifi, Kwale, Mambrui, and Vipongo heavy mineral sands deposits. The company is mining at Kwale District. During the first 6 years of the project, Tiomin is expected to produce 330,000 t/yr of ilmenite, 77,000 t/yr of rutile, and 37,000 t/yr of zircon. The expected mine life was 13 years. Capital costs were estimated to be $120 million