International Heavy Minerals Conference alternates between South Africa and other heavy mineral-producing countries. It provides a forum for an exchange of knowledge in all aspects of heavy minerals, from exploration through processing and product applications. This is a strictly technical conference, and efforts by the Organizing Committee are aimed at preserving its technical nature. The benefit of this focus is that it allows the operators of businesses within this sector to discuss topics not normally covered in such forums. The focus on heavy minerals includes the more obvious minerals such as ilmenite, rutile, and zircon; and also other heavy minerals such as garnet, and alusite, and sillimanite.