: That is, unless they didn't have that technology, and there really was a vein of pure titanium in Moria. Maybe an asteroid made of pure titanium hit the earth there many eons ago, buried itself deep beneath Caradrhas, and remained there until the dwarves discovered it. That would explain why it was just about the only place where the metal occurred.

Ok, and a peice of that same asteroid might have broken off in the atmosphere and landed in Numenor.

The only problem with that theory is that any asteroid upon striking the surface would have exploded in something like an atomic blast. The titanium would have been scattered all over the area and, depending on the size, could have leveled the mountain and left a nice little crater. Especially if it was made of pure titanium, it would be like a armor peircing bullet, a planet killing event.

I tried to find some way to wrap some numbers around how much mithril might have been mined from Khazad Dum, but I can't find anything to even begin a basis. I thought there was a reference to how much a coat of mithril would be worth, but there was only awe expressed at its value without actually giving it one. If it eqated to its weight in gold then there was likely a great deal of mithril mined, in which case, the asteroid theory won't work for the reasons I mention above.

I think, at the end of the day, mithril can't be titanium simply because there isn't enough of it scattered around ME.

-RR