Industrial Minerals

Features

• Aluminas: pure and not so simple

  Alumina producers are realigning themselves as high purity suppliers, as increased demand for specialist grades in refractories and hi-tech uses drives value growth in the non-metallurgical sector Read More

• Chinese bauxite: the way ahead

  The supply structure of one of China’s key export refractory minerals has undergone significant evolution in recent years. Recently returned from China, James Devlin explains how things stand and what the future holds for Chinese non-met. bauxite Read More

• Saudi silica surge

  High purity silica and quartz development is very much on the agenda for Saudi Arabia. IM reports on silica matters seen and heard in Jeddah Read More

• Vietnam’s refractory vision to 2020

  Vietnam is a country rich in minerals, boasting significant reserves of barytes, bauxite, and clays. Dr Tran Kim Phuong argues the case for foreign investment in Vietnam’s refractory raw materials, outlining their strategic development through to 2020 Read More

• End User Focus: Off the grid

  With energy prices rising and renewables gobbling up market share, grid storage batteries are emerging as a potentially huge market for a variety of minerals including lithium, graphite, and vanadium pentoxide Read More

• Price Briefing: Shaky fundamentals felt in minerals markets as economy wobbles

  With bearish headlines flashing across screens this month it would be logical to come to the conclusion that all markets, minerals ones included, were failing. Read More

• Industrial Minerals Prices June 2012

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Supply Developments

• Kerneos acquires 54% stake in Greek bauxite miner Elmin

  French calcium aluminates producer Kerneos has acquired a majority stake in Greek bauxite producer Hellenic Mining Enterprises SA (Elmin), in a deal that will provide Kerneos with a stable, long-term supply of monohydrate bauxite, used in the production of calcium aluminate grades for chemicals, cement, refractories and a host of other markets Read More

• RHI ramps up raw material strategy with Magnohrom buy

  Leading global refractories producer RHI AG has continued its acquisition trail by signing a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) to acquire dead burned magnesia (DBM) producer Magnohrom d.o.o. of Serbia Read More

• KaMin rockets to world number two with CADAM purchase

  US kaolin producer KaMin LLC has purchased Brazilian kaolin business CADAM SA from iron ore group Vale SA for $30m Read More

• Graphite supply switches as China consolidates and Europe expands

  The consolidation of China’s amorphous graphite industry is set to impact the supply-demand balance for 2012 and 2013 and will result in a loss of global supply Read More

• Drilling barytes specification under spotlight

  One of the key oilfield minerals, barytes used as a weighting agent in drilling fluids, is having its industry specification brought into debate once again Read More

• Positive proppant future in the US

  There’s no halting the intensity of interest in the US proppant market Read More

• Guar gum shortage impacts fracking market

  The humble guar bean of the Indian sub-continent is creating havoc with the booming hydraulic fracturing (fracking) market of North America Read More

• Potash industry could see a green shoot for the rest of the year

  After a record year in 2011, which saw the industry getting back to pre-crisis levels, the potash market started to slow down once again during the beginning of 2012 Read More

• “We are looking to increase capacity at Boron”

  It has been a turbulent 12 months in most mineral markets, but specifically in borates markets, where prices have edged up on the back of a narrowing of supply Read More

• Peru’s Inkabor diversifies and grows as borates market expands

  Peru’s Inkabor, one of the world’s leading borates producers, is significantly increasing its product range as it capitalises on growing demand in several key sectors, senior managers told IM Read More

• US lime companies expand as steel markets heat up

  Martin Marietta Magnesia Specialties LLC Inc. (MMMS), is significantly expanding dolomitic lime production with the addition of a new kiln at its Woodville, Ohio plant where the majority of the lime produced is sold as a flux to the steel industry Read More

• EU critical materials conference calls for “support on joint research”

  At a conference organised by Euromines on Critical Raw Materials, representatives of government and inter-government leading companies in the extractive industry, and international users, came together in Brussels, Belgium. Read More

Comment

• Frac sand vertical integration bites

  Oil and gas producers secure own supply to combat rising prices Read More

Strandlines

• Argex develops new titanium dioxide process for ilmenite

  Canada’s Argex Mining is pioneering a new process that can extract problematic elements and still produce high quality TiO2 Read More

Processing

• Sorting sands

  Growing interest in oil and gas projects has buoyed demand for proppants such as silica sand. McLanahan Corp. outlines the technologies and methods available for wet processing of frac sand Read More

• Silica sand: going against the grain

  Interest in silica sand is booming, largely thanks to its use as a proppant in oilfield drilling, yet the mineral is used across diverse markets such as fillers and foundries. Dr Wolfgang Rubarth discusses different processing techniques and industry requirements Read More

People & Places

• People and Places June 2012

  Trevor Matthews, Matilda Zircon Ltd; Ken Kirsch,Jay Nartatez, Chris Kelley, McLanahan Corp.; Jon R. Tabor, Allied Minerals; Tord Svensson, CommodasUltrasort Read More

Refractories Hotline

• Cookson assesses potential refractories unit demerger

  Cookson Group Plc has announced that it is considering a potential demerger or separation of its two main divisions, Engineering Ceramics (refractories) and Performance Materials (speciality chemicals) Read More

Company Profile

• Talk from the Top: “Asia will play an important part in H2 pricing”

  Vladislav Baumgertner, CEO of leading potash producer Uralkali, spoke to IM about the Russian company’s strategy, and provided forecasts for the potash industry in Russia and globally Read More