SUPPLY SECURITYAll mullite production is synthetic, either by sintering or fusing aluminosilicate raw material feedstock. Mullite’s two main inputs can be identified as aluminosilicate minerals and energy. Proximity to supply of at least one or both of these inputs is a prerequisite for most mullite producers.
The supply sector for mullite is a widely dispersed but relatively select group (see map), concentrated in the USA, Brazil, Europe (UK, Germany, Hungary), China, India, and Japan.
With the exception of C-E Minerals, USA, and a few Chinese producers, most sintered production units are <20,000 tpa, while fused mullite units are <10,000 tpa.
It is worth noting that significant mullite production capacity comes under Imerys in the USA (C-E Minerals, Georgia), Germany (Treibacher Schleifmittel Zschornewitz GmbH), and Brazil (Treibacher Schleifmittel Brazil Ltda).
C-E Minerals is the market leader with by far the largest capacity (estimated total production...