: Beren Valthôl

Titanium does seem to have all the requirements for a mithril-esque metal. Titanium (Ti) is silver-white metallic element used principally to make light, strong alloys. Pure titanium is soluble in concentrated acids, such as sulfuric and hydrofluoric acids (which might be used to etch a blade with runes), and insoluble in water. The metal is extremely brittle when cold, but is readily malleable and ductile at a low red heat (such as a heat made by a smiths furnace or a blast furnace). Titanium melts at about 1660° C (about 3020° F), boils at about 3287° C (about 5949° F), and has a specific gravity of 4.5 (in comparison with iron's specific gravity which is 7.86). The atomic weight of titanium is 47.88 (again in comparison with iron's atomic weight of 55.847).

Thus, an iron or steel alloy made using titanium would have many of the properties that a mitrhil crafted object was preported to have. However, mithril was extremely rare, existing in quantity only in Khazad Dum and (supposedly) Numenor, whereas titanium is actually quite abundant, I believe it is the ninth most abundant mineral in the earth's crust.

-RR