Vermiculite features

• Indian mining: Stuck in the slow lane IM October - November 2019

  Frustration at the lack of progress in India’s mining sector was simmering at the annual FIMI meeting in Delhi in September. Sunder Singh discovers how many in the industry believe that, far from advancing, mineral production in India is going backwards. Read More

• Growing stronger: vermiculite and perlite IM July - August 2019

  Driven by demand from multiple sectors - from construction and horticulture to fire protection and steelmaking - the global vermiculite and perlite market remains in growth mode, underscored by a healthy supply-demand balance, reports Ross Davies. Read More

• Vermiculite rising IM July - August 2018

  New supply from Uganda and Turkey pushed up global vermiculite production in 2017. Meanwhile, prices have increased out of the United States because customers are demanding higher grades. Read More

• A rock and a hard place IM September 2017

  Demand for refractory products is evolving, forcing suppliers to upgrade their offers and processes to stay ahead of the game, while Chinese-origin raw materials are appreciating on the back of supply shortages, making productions costlier, Davide Ghilotti, IM Chief Reporter, finds. Read More

• Growing gains: Perlite and vermiculite IM July-August 2017

  As two niche mineral sectors that have largely lacked innovation, Rose Pengelly, IM Correspondent, considers whether there could be more in store for vermiculite and perlite than tall buildings and tomatoes. Read More

• Summer holiday for agriminerals, no break for mineral sands IM August 2014

  Agrimineral demand recovery continues as flame retardant chemical price growth stutters; no gains in sight for mineral sands Read More

• A growing market: vermiculite and perlite in horticulture IM April 2014 issue

  Reporter, Antonio Torrisi, and Senior Reporter, Kasia Patel, take a look at the uses of vermiculite and perlite in the horticultural industry. Read More

• The Great Occasion IM April 2014 issue

  The Industrial Minerals Congress launched 40 years ago, in 1974, and was attended by over 400 delegates from 36 different countries. As we prepare for the 22nd Congress, which will be held in Vancouver this month, IM approached several industry leaders and asked each of them the same five questions to get their perspectives on how the market has changed. Siobhan Lismore-Scott, Editor Read More

• Vermiculite’s green shoots August 2012

  The vermiculite industry has just had one of the most volatile years in history. Jack Elliott discusses new market entrants and asks – what next? Read More

• Industrial Minerals Prices July 2012 July 2012

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• Price Briefing: Year-end company accounts show true health of minerals industry April 2012

  By March most companies had submitted their end of year accounts with differing forecasts for the year ahead. While a producer is unlikely to emphasise a fall in sales or volume, most seen so far have been relatively bullish when mentioning prices Read More

• Minerals in waste remediation August 2009 issue

  With a shift in US environment policy and a global push for a cleaner environment, George Hawley reviews the potential of minerals in waste disposal Read More

• The long and the short of it February Issue 2008

  Flawed arguments dog asbestos identification: It’s an issue that continues to hound the industrial minerals market; talc and vermiculite have suffered in recent years. Fifteen years after OSHA ruled that common cleavage fragments ought not to be treated as asbestos, confusion and misinformation persists. John Kelse sets out the facts for nonasbestiform amphiboles, reviews recent cases, and warns against unreasoned decision-making Read More

• West Bengal potential February Issue 2008

  THE NORTH-WEST Indian state of West Bengal has a number of industrial mineral opportunities, many of which are still unexploited. The main industrial minerals found in West Bengal are china clay, fireclay, apatite, dolomite, limestone and vermiculite. At the moment only apatite, china clay and fireclay are mined, with 2004-2005 production figures of: 4,950 tonnes apatite, 68,544 tonnes fireclay and 67,099 tonnes china clay. Read More

• Head to Head - Cat litter: clays v non-clays August Issue 2007

  Efforts in the cat litter industry are focused on improved litter products using a range of clay and non-clay materials. But it seems that issues outside the litter box could shape the future market Read More

• Will China stay cheap? July Issue 2007

  THE WORLD OF industrial minerals has become dominated by, and highly dependant on China. In almost every sector, Chinese minerals have become the price and quality base line. In the last decade, China’s exports and minerals production have metamorphosed from basic ‘raw material production’ using very simplistic methods, to ever more production and export of processed minerals. This progression has had profound effects and implications for producers, processors and consumers worldwide. Read More

• North-west Russia April Issue 2007

  The republics of Murmansk and Karelia, in northwest Russia, account for a significant share of Russia’s industrial minerals production, as well hosting the world’s sole source of baddeleyite. Dmitri Magazanik, of Infomine Research Group, highlights these key mineral sources and assesses the region’s outlook Read More

• Lightweights fight it out July Issue 2006

  The ability to expand to several times their original size when heated forces vermiculite and perlite to share many markets. But to what extent do the two minerals differ, and how does this affect their use? Read More

• EU H&S policy February Issue 2006

  SMEs are at the core of the EU’s entrepreneurship policy revamp. Michelle Wyart-Remy, IMA Europe General- Secretary, describes the problems industrial minerals SMEs may encounter when facing the EU health and safety programme. Read More