Mineral sands explorer Iluka Resources Ltd said on Tuesday that the company's expected rutile production output from its Murray Basin Stage 2 project in Victoria would be a bit lower as compared to the announced forecast made in February.

The company said that owing to the delays seen on the forecast production levels at the Kulwin project, its 2010 rutile output could dip by 10 percent from the projected 180,000 tonnes announced earlier this year.

However, Iluka said that the lower rutile projected output should be partially cancelled out by the encouraging forecast production of other naturally occurring high-grade titanium dioxide offered in similar markets to rutile, adding that the projected zircon production from the Murray Basin should stay with previously announced guidance.

The company also reported that shipments from its Jacinth-Ambrosia project in South Australia's Eucla Basins were being delivered as scheduled thanks to the site's up-to-date production, stressing that "customer acceptance of Jacinth-Ambrosia zircon had been highly favourable."

Iluka said that the total zircon production at Jacinth-Ambrosia should peak to an approximately 150,000 tonnes this year, which should set the stage for a ramped up production expectation of 300,000 by 2011.

The company said that further details would be made known once its quarterly production report is released on July 20, though it hinted that zircon and rutile have seen experienced strong demands in the year-to-date.