Magnesia features

• June 2002

  Irons in the fire - What's cooking with sillimanite minerals?

  01 June 2002

  After a disastrous 2001, the refractories industry is beginning to find its feet again and prospects are looking a little brighter. This is especially good news for sillimanite minerals – andalusite, kyanite, sillimanite, and sintered mullite – since refractories are the primary consuming market for these aluminosilicate minerals. The sillimanite minerals sector has always provided a degree of intrigue and interest, since although these materials remain vitally important to refractory manufacture, their commercial development worldwide has been very limited

• Refractories for iron making

  01 June 2002

  Trends in blast furnace iron making have been characterised by larger and more efficient production units, which are being driven harder, in turn leading to increasing demands on refractories

• Silica flour - The finest money can buy

  01 June 2002

  Natural silica as an industrial mineral is perhaps best known for its large volume use in construction materials and in glass. However, silica is also processed as a high-grade product commanding a premium price tag albeit in a lower volume market. This feature reviews silica flour– silica milled to produce a fine powdered product that has important applications in the ceramics, paint, and fibreglass industries. There are few large suppliers of silica flour worldwide that have access to high purity feedstock sand and have invested in the milling plant required.

• Graphite

  01 June 2002