BENTONITE

High bulk, low cost: a truck carrying bentonite from Volclay Internationals mine (5,000 tpa) in Miles, Queensland, Australia being weighed. Courtesy Volclay.

Bentonite bound for success

High energy prices, manufacturing, pet ownership, environmental concerns and healthy diets have all contributed to a buzzing bentonite market. How has this versatile clay adapted to this changing global world? by Kwok W Wan, Assistant Editor
entonite is back with more uses than ever before. Despite the problems of rising freight costs for this high bulk, low cost industrial mineral, global production has increased for five years running, with some producers expressing concern about the ability to meet demand. There has been little investment in supply infrastructure over the past few years, not since the oil boom in the 1980s, and as plants reach capacity, producers could struggle to keep up. Even immediate investment now would take a few years to come online, though there are plenty of reserves to exploit. Freight costs may also explain the

recent trend to find local sources, with news of USA based Amcol International Corp. acquiring a 25% stake in Russian producers, Bentonit Group, and Italian producers, Laviosa Chimica Mineraria SpA, opening a processing plant in Turkey. Bentonite markets are robust, if not stellar. Oil and gas prices are fuelling exploration and therefore the drilling mud market, with gas exploration increasing in the USA and rig counts increasing in South East Asia. Car manufacturer and infrastructure projects are driving the foundry and iron ore pelletisation markets in India and China, while high tech products are buoying the European foundry market, especially in Germany.

Pet litter remains steady in Europe while performing slightly better in the USA, as cat owners switch to clumping litters. Global eating trends towards healthy foods means bleaching earths gain as customers consume more vegetable oils rather than animal fats, while clarification of biofuel emerges as another potential market. Environmental concerns also drive the geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) market, with emerging markets in India and China, as governments start to find safer ways to manage waste. The use of bentonite in animal feed as a way to absorb microtoxins is also a growing market, as the worlds population increases and people demand more meat.
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The beauty of bentonite is the vast number of applications it could have, from antiviral gels to cholesterol absorption, with more research and development being conducted everyday. As things stand, its looking alright for bentonite.

Sourcing highlights
USA The USA remains the worlds largest producer of bentonite, accounting for a third of global production, with estimated reserves of 4,400m. tonnes. The production of bentonite in the USA is increasing with more than 5.07m. tonnes of bentonite being sold or used in 2007, compared to 4.94m. tonnes in 2006. This covers the fact that although sodium (or swelling) bentonite production increased from 4.41m. tonnes in 2005 to 4.68m. tonnes in 2006, calcium (or nonswelling) bentonite decreased from to 260,000 tonnes in 2006 from 300,000 in 2005.

The main area of sodium bentonite production remains Wyoming, followed in order of highest production by Montana, Utah, Texas, California, Oregon, Colorado, and Nevada. Main production areas of calcium bentonite in order of highest production are Alabama, Mississippi, Arizona, Texas, Nevada, and California. The main producer remains Amcol which operates through American Colloid Co. and a number of downstream businesses including Colloid Environmental Technologies Company (CETCO), which produces environmental products such as GCLs, and Nanocor Inc., which produces nanoclays specifically designed for plastic nanocomposite. Overseas operations are undertaken by Volclay International with facilities or joint ventures (j-v) in countries including Australia, China, Egypt, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Turkey and Vietnam. Belle/Colony is Amcols largest operational mine and produced 1.75m.

tonnes in 2006, more than twice the bentonite of the next largest mine in Wyoming (see Table 2) and the highest yearly production for over 10 years. Part of Halliburton Energy Services, Bentonite Performance Minerals LLC (BPM) is the second largest US bentonite producer and also has substantial operations in Wyoming, producing a total of 1.59m. tonnes in 2006 (see Table 2) as well as plants in Waterloo, Iowa and a processing facility in St Louis, Missouri. Although much of BPMs business focus is on drilling, it also supplies all major markets of Wyoming bentonite (foundry, environmental, pet absorbents, iron ore pelletisation, and oil field services) with significant market share in each. Other producers include Black Hills Bentonite LLC, which recently started producing at its Oshoto mine (50,000 tpa) after exhausting its Poison Spider bentonite mine a few years ago. This has reduced capacity from around 1m. tpa to 650,000 tpa.

Bentonite basics
A general definition of bentonite is a clay consisting essentially of smectite minerals (montmorillinite group of some usage), regardless of its origin or occurrence. This may be subdivided into two varieties: either having sodium as the dominate exchangeable ion (sodium bentonite) or having calcium as the dominate exchangeable ion (calcium bentonite). Sodium bentonite (also known as swelling, Wyoming, western and montmorillonite) has a high swelling capacity and is stable above 400C. Calcium bentonite (also known as nonswelling, fullers earth in the UK, southern, Mississippi and Texan) has a lower swelling capacity. It can also be treated with soda ash to form sodium-exchanged bentonite (also known as sodium-activated bentonite or synthetic bentonite) with improved swelling bentonite qualities. Main applications Bentonite is used for drilling muds to provide suspension for weighting agents and drill cuttings, to form an impervious coating on the drill hole walls and therefore prevent gas or liquid migration, stabilise walls, and help lubricate the drill bit. Wyoming bentonite is the global standard grade for drilling applications. Iron ore pelletisation (IOP) uses bentonite as a binding agent, and is added to dry iron ore to form pellets. Sodium bentonite is preferred for its excellent plasticity, dry bonding strength and high mechanical strength at high temperatures.
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Both sodium and calcium bentonite is used in foundry sands, though sodium bentonite dominates because of its stability at high temperatures. Calcium bentonite is used on lower temperature processes where it enhances the production of intricate castings (grey iron, ductile iron). Pet litter producers use both types of bentonite, depending on the location of the nearest source. Sodium bentonite, because of its increased swelling capacity, form clumping litter and is more common in the USA, while calcium bentonite, which forms nonclumping pet litter, is more common in Europe. Other applications include the production of bleaching clays from montmorillonite, by treating calcium bentonite with sulphuric acid (acid-activated bentonite) to dissolve acid-activated bentonite impurities like calcite, replace exchangeable divalent calcium with monovalent hydrogen ions, and leach ferric, ferrous, aluminium, and magnesium ions. Bleaching clays have excellent absorptive and ion exchange capacity that is used to clarify, decolourise, dehydrate and/or neutralise liquids. Applications include wine and edible oil clarification. Bentonite is also used in civil engineering applications and geosynthetic clay liners (GCL). Good plasticity, high sheer (GCL) and compression strength and impermeability of sodium bentonite means it makes an excellent fluid barrier. Its uses include toxic landfill and waste dumps. Bentonite can also be incorporated between layers of synthetic fabric to form a GCL. The uppermost layer is permeable allowing encapsulated bentonite to swell and therefore produce an impermeable, self-sealing flexible layer.
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Like BPM, M-I Drilling Fluids LLC also focuses on the oil field market and has also been increasing production of its Greybull mine, from 552,278 s. tons in 2005 to 670,124 s. tons in 2006, again the highest production for over ten years. Currently, all US bentonite producers are reporting healthy sales and demand, with one major producer citing: These are the good old day for industrial minerals! China Although China is estimated to be the second largest producer of bentonite, with production at 3.1m. in 2005, obtaining accurate data about the producers is difficult because of the sheer numbers of small and medium sized producers which usually have less than 50,000 tpa capacity. Around 90% of Chinese production is calcium bentonite with deposits spread over east and central China. The largest ever bentonite deposit was found in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region recently, with proven reserves of around 550m. tonnes (see IM April 08, p.24). Latest figures estimated around 50% (1.2m. tonnes) of Chinese bentonite went into foundry, 25% (600,000 tonnes) into drilling applications, 8% (192,000 tonnes) into IOP while cat litter made up only 3% (72,000 tonnes). The final 10% (240,000 tonnes) is used in civil engineering and other application. Zhejiang Clay Chemicals Co. Ltd is Chinas leading bentonite producer, mining 350,000 tpa from its Zhejian Anji No.1 mine with an estimated reserve of 10m. tonnes. Volclay DongMing Industrial Minerals Co. Ltd, an Amcol subsidiary, commissioned a 60,000 tpa facility in Shahai, Jiangping county in 2000 which has since increased capacity to 138,000 tpa. The site has estimated reserves of 30m. tonnes. In 2005, Volclay Dongming also opened a geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) plant to supply the domestic market. German producer, Sd-Chemie AG, also has a subsidiary, Liaoning SdChemie Redhill Bentonite Co. Ltd, in Jianping which can produce 120,000 tpa and supplies the foundry industry.
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Greece There are three groups of bentonite deposits on Milos in the Aegean Sea. Reserve estimates for the two deposits owned by S&B Industrial Minerals SA and one owned by Sd-Chemie range from 35-50m. tonnes. Following the general trend of global bentonite output, Greece has also increased production after five years of flat figures, from 950,000 tpa during 2002-2006 to 1.1m. tonnes in 2007. S&B is the main operator in Greece, making it the largest producer in Europe and second largest in the world. It produces 1m. tpa from its Milos deposits

Pie Chart 1: Total sales for US bentonite (domestic and export) in 2007 (tonnage)

Other 867,000 (17%) Iron ore pelletisation 765,000 (15%) Foundry 969,000 (19%)

Absorbants 1.3m. (26%)

Drilling mud 1.17m. (23%)

Source: USGS

Table 1: Top producing countries

Country USA China Greece Turkey Russia Italy Brazil Mexico India Japan Germany Argentina Australia Czech Republic Other Countries World Total 2007 bentonite production tpa (unless otherwise stated) 5.1m. 3.1m. (estimated 2005) 1.1m. 1.0m. 500,000 (estimated 2005) 470,000 463,000 (2005) 450,000 430,000 (2004) 420,000 (2006) 360,000 243,590 (2005) 220,000 (2006) 220,000 723,410 14.9m.
Source: USGS and BGS

Table 2: Wyoming bentonite production in 2006

Mine name Belle/Colony Lovell Lovell Colony Greybull Kaycee Stucco Tensleep Oshoto M-I Drilling Fluids Pit Production (s. tons) 1,751,457 853,225 830,884 757,309 670,124 491,188 400,192 202,972 73,867 27,000 Operator

American Colloid (Amcol subsidiary) American Colloid (Amcol subsidiary) BPM Minerals LLC BPM Minerals LLC M-I LLC Black Hills Bentonite Corp. Wyo-Ben Inc. Black Hills Bentonite Corp. Black Hills Bentonite Corp. Kenneth E. Tanner
Source: Wyoming Mining Association

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Major world bentonite producers (> 200,000 tpa)

Company Amcol International Corp. Ashapura Minechem Ltd Bentonit AD Black Hills Bentonite LLC BPM Minerals LLC Laviosa Chimica Mineraria SpA M-I Drilling Fluids Peletico Ltd S&B Industrial Minerals SA Sepiol SA Sd-Chemie AG Taiko Group Wyo-Ben Inc. Zhejiang Clay Chemicals Co. Ltd Headquarters Arlington Heights, Illinois, USA Mumbai, India Kardjali, Bulgaria Mills, Wyoming, USA Houston, Texas, USA Livorno, Italy Houston, Texas, USA Nicosia, Cyprus Kifissia, Greece Guadalajara, Spain Munich, Germany Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia Billing, Montana, USA Gao Yu Town, Zhejiang Province, China Capacity (tpa) 2.5m. 300,000 200,000 650,000 1.3m. 230,000 506,000 300,000 1.3m. 400,000 1m. 250,000 400,000 350,000 Production capacity includes operations in Greece (1m. tpa), Georgia, and Hungary. Production capacity includes crude sepiolite, bentonite and saponite. Bleaching earths in China, India and Indonesia. Plan to bring idled Thermopolis facility back online. Notes Also has operations in China (138,000 tpa), Turkey (60,000 tpa), and Australia (5,000 tpa). Has 35,000 tpa processing facility in Antwerp, Belgium. Recently exhausted its Poison Spider mine. Raw materials sources include Greece, India, Turkey, Italy, USA and Morrocco. Recently announced new 50,000 tpa processing plant in Turkey.

in addition to mines and plants in Bulgaria, Georgia, Germany and Hungary. Around 80% of S&Bs bentonite is exported to Europe and 10% is shipped to the USA for iron ore applications. By market proportion: 50% (500,000 tonnes) goes into foundry, 15.7% (157,000 tonnes) to drilling mud, 10% (100,000 tonnes) to pet litter and 6.8% (68,000 tonnes) to civil engineering. Other producers include Sd-Chemie & Co. Hellas, a 90% owned subsidiary of Sd-Chemie, which produces 30,000 tpa from its mine on Milos. The bentonite is transported to other Sd-Chemie groups for processing. Turkey Turkey has large reserves of both sodium and calcium bentonite, with 350m. tonnes proven and 248m. tonnes probable reserves, making it a good prospect for bentonite producers. This has led to a number of investments from different companies. Amcol acquired Istanbul based Bensan Activated Bentonite Co. last year for $12.3m. to supply the bleaching earths market. Bensan is one of Turkeys leading producers, has reserves of 15m. tonnes and has production capacity of 60,000 tpa (see IM August 07, p.17). Italys leading bentonite producer, Laviosa Chimica Mineraria SpA, has also
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decided to expand into Turkey with a 50,000 tpa dried granulated bentonite plant, expected to be operational late 2008. Located in Fatsa north-central Turkey, it is expected to target the cat litter, detergent and paper markets (see p.10) Sd-Chemie Mining and Trading Inc., a subsidiary of Sd-Chemie, is one of the largest bentonite producers in Turkey, with two mines in Ordu province. Combined capacity is 60,000 tpa and most of the raw materials is shipped to SdChemie companies for processing. India India has 366m. tonnes of bentonite reserves, of which 75% is located in the state of Rajasthan and the other 25% in Gujarat. Sodium bentonite from Rajasthan is of low quality and is used for foundry sands, while sodium and calcium bentonite can be found in Gujarat. Ashapura Minechem Ltd is the biggest bentonite producer, with mines near Bhuj and Kutch in west India and processing plants in Bhuj. It has identified reserves of 25m. tonnes and 300,000 tpa capacity.

energy companies, such as Russian energy giant OJC Gazprom, warning prices could climb to $250 by 2009, exploration has never seemed so lucrative and tempting. This is good news for bentonite producers that specialise in drilling. In fact, the number of new drilling rigs in the USA has grown 50.1% since 2002 and US producers have enjoyed increased sales in drilling mud and are bullish about the current market. Sodium bentonite (locally known as Wyoming bentonite) is the most widely used clay for drilling, having effective viscosifying characteristics, and the best sealing and filtration properties of any naturally occurring clay. At the SME Annual Meeting and Exhibit 2008 in Utah, USA, a Halliburton presentation suggested continued growth in demand for drilling grade bentonite and that demand could exceed supply. Evidence of this can be seen as US producers start to reopen idled mines, such as Wyo-Ben Inc. bringing its Thermopolis and Lucern facilities back online. Sweet natural gas Even though there is a shortage of new oil discoveries in the USA, the attention of energy companies has switched to natural gas. The percentage of gas rigs 20 years ago account for 37.1% of the
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Main markets
Drilling Without doubt, rising energy prices are driving the drilling market globally. As crude oil prices rise to over $135/barrel and

BENTONITE

Other bentonite producers (< 200,000 tpa)

Country Argentina Australia Brazil Canada China Company Castiglioni, Pes y Cia SAFIAMI Clay Resource Co. Unimin Australia Ltd Bentonit Uniao Nordeste SA (BUNE) Canadian Clay Products Inc. Asia Bentonite Co. Ltd, Chaoyan Hangzhou Choushan Bleaching Earth Co. Ltd Volclay DongMing Industrial Minerals Co. Ltd Drapia Mining Co. Ltd Hellenic Mining Co. Ltd Czech Republic Egypt Germany Keramost AS Egypt Mining and Drilling Chemicals Erbsloh Lohrheim GmbH Karlicher Ton-und-Schamotte-Werke Mannheim & Co. KG (KTS) Marx Bergbau GmbH & Co. KG S&B Industrial Minerals Kft Gexmin Co. Gimpex Ltd Jumbo Mining Ltd Star Bentonite Group Italy CECA Italiana SpA Eredi Dr. Settimoi Cinicola Valdol SpA Hojun Kogyo Co. Ltd Houyou Bentonite Co. Ltd Kunimine Industries Co. Ltd Nippon Kasseihakudo Co. Ltd Arcillas Procesadas Barcosta Barmex FVR Minerales Industriales Tecnica Mineral SA de CV Bega Minerale Industriale SA G & W Base & Industrial Minerals (Pty) Ltd Tolsa SA Bensan Activated Bentonite Co. Ekosis Maden San Tic Ltd Capacity (tpa) 32,000 30,000 80,000 164,000 (processed) 80,000 30,000 80,000 183,000 150,000 55,000 175,000 35,000 24,000 (processed) 50,000 20,000 40,000 50,000 150,000 100,000 (capacity) 35,000 (actual) 100,000 50,000 45,000 65,000 108,000 60,000 168,000 60,000 60,000 40,000 36,000 60,000 37,000 (processed) 25,000 20,000 160,000 60,000 25,000 Calcium and sodium exchanged bentonites Notes Plans to increase capacity by four-fold in one year

Together with affiliated enterprise, Xiangrui Bentonite Co. Ltd in Jianping, has licences for estimated 5m. tonne bentonite reserve and 100,000 tpa processing plant Amcol subsidiary 40,000 tpa calcium bentonite, 15,000 tpa sodium activated bentonite

Cyprus

Hungary India

Capacity includes attapulgite and ball clay Sodium and calcium bentonite Supplies Sd-Chemie for production of bleaching clays in Indonesia and Malaysia, bought by Imerys in 2007. Formed a j-v with Laviosa, called Laviosa Bentonite Co Pvt, producing bentonite Montmorillonite clay

Japan

Mexico

Romania South Africa Spain Turkey

100,000 tpa sodium exchange bentonite, 60,000 tpa natural calcium bentonite Purchased by Amcol in 2007, has estimated reserves of 15m. tonnes. New drying and grinding plant in Ordu, Turkey expected to be operational by late 2008 Calcium and white bentonite Part of Tolsa SA.

Esan Eczacibasi Endustriyel Hammaddeler San Tic AS 30,000 UK USA Rockwood Absorbents Ltd Steetley Bentonite and Absorbents Ltd Cowboy Mining Co. unit of PDSCo Inc. Evergreen Bentonite Inc. Kenneth E. Tanner Matcon Corp. Inc. Milwhite Inc. Redmond Minerals Inc. Teague Mineral Products Western Clay Co. 50,000 (processed) 70,000-80,000 (processed) 45,000 >50,000 30,000-50,000 20,000 >50,000 50,000 80,000 27,000

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total, whereas this year it accounts for 80.7% (see Table 3). There remains a shortage of natural gas in the USA and there has been an increase in exploration since 2004. According to some industry experts, high energy prices has made it economically viable to drill for unconventional natural gas, which includes gas saturated in rock which usually requires a higher proportion of directional drilling. Bob Stitchman, vice president of Wyo-Ben Inc., told IM With oil prices IM: at a record high and natural gas drilling activity at a fever pitch, tonnage into that arena is as good as its been in 20 years. In a twist Despite strong recent resurgence, the nature of drilling has changed which could affect bentonite usage. Some 30 years ago, the oil industry accounted for 30% of the 4.5m. tonnes of bentonite mined in Wyoming; today, it is 26% of 4.1m. tonnes. Part of the reason for the drop in consumption is the trend in exploiting existing fields for oil and gas (which does not require bentonite) while new technology such as intelligent wells and use of super deep offshore drilling also reduce the amount of bentonite used. High energy prices also means that oil sand and oil shale, previously thought to be too expensive to exploit, are now viable and this type of extraction also requires minimum amounts of bentonite. The location of rigs has also changed. In the 1970s, 71% of all rigs worldwide were operating in the USA. The number now stands at 50%, meaning the proportion of rigs have gone to locations outside the USA and therefore creating huge opportunities of overseas drilling markets. Asian oils Other drilling hotspots include Asia and the Middle East. We predict an increase of more than 10% using in drilling minerals in these areas, Avijit Mukherjee, senior manager of International Marketing at Ashapura told IM and this should continue over IM, the next 5-10 years.
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In the past, only a small percentage of Chinese bentonite was used for drilling, though China does have the potential to produce high quality drilling bentonite in the future, it lacks the necessary technology. This shortage in demand has led to illegal bentonite mining in neighbouring countries like Vietnam (see IM June 08, p.21). Pet Litter The stellar rise in the amount of bentonite used in pet litter over the past few years has created a major market for many European and US producers, and many have grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Despite previous bullish growth, some fear the market has been maturing, although most still expect steady growth and look to Asia to increase demand. In Europe, calcium bentonite (also known as non-clumping) dominates while in the US, sodium bentonite (clumping) is more prevalent. Although European companies can activate calcium bentonite with soda ash to produce sodium bentonite, the quality is not as high, and estimates suggests it accounts for less than 10% of market. These consumption trends can be explained by the availability of local, and therefore cheaper, bentonite sources influencing pet litter manufacturers. Other light-weight and eco-cat litter is produced from other materials, including sepiolite, diatomite, perlite and silica gels. European pause Even though bentonite holds a 41% share of a 1.5m. tonne cat litter market, some think the European market is stagnating. Growth has generally been strong over the past few years, with Dutch cat litter producer, Sivomatic BV, more than doubling raw material consumption since the 1990s, while Cypriot bentonite producer, Peletico Ltd, has increased capacity from 100,000 tpa to 200,000 tpa in the last six years. Despite this, the European cat litter industry has become well developed and very competitive. Nick Syriopoulos,

Table 3: Market opportunities: increasing gas rigs

% Oil rigs Feb 1988 Feb 1991 Feb 2002 Feb 2008 60.2 57.4 18.2 18.8 % Gas rigs 37.1 41.1 81.7 80.7

Source: Baker Hughes Energy

Table 4: Number of active rigs in Asian regions

Region Middle East India China No. of active rigs (Jan 08) 380 132 43 % increase in active rigs since Jan 07 15 14 50 13
Source: M-I Swaco LLC

South-east Asia 103

general manager of special clay producer Geohellas, told IM that he did not expect a heck of a lot of growth over the next few years, estimating a steady rate of 34%. Meanwhile, others think there maybe some unexploited opportunities left in eastern Europe. As Lars Sorensen, sales director of Danish moler and pet litter producing company, Damolin AS, explained to IM Eastern Europe has not IM: seen as much growth as western Europe, but demand might increase in the future. US kitty The US cat litter market has also experienced strong growth over the past few years, with cat ownership increasing from 93m. in 1990 to 113m. in 2005. Bentonite accounts for 85% of the cat litter market, with sodium bentonite taking 60% and calcium bentonite making up 25%. The cat litter market is doing extremely well, said Larry Madsen, vice president of Black Hills Bentonite said to IM Black Hills Bentonite supplied IM. 455,000 tpa of bentonite for the cat litter market.
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Though US cat ownership is only expected to increase by 2% over the next few years, Madsen has seen an extra 8-10% increase in demand as pet owners switch to clumping types for convenience and ecological reasons. It [clumping cat litter] has a number of advantages, explained Madsen including odour control, cleanliness and it also takes up small landfill. Far East The pet population is growing in Asia, especially in Japan and China, and is expected to grow at a steady rate. Ashapura, responsible for exporting sodium bentonite into the European market, also exports to Asian countries including China, Malaysia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Thailand. Although only a small proportion of Chinese bentonite goes into the cat litter industry, it has the reserves to

supply the Asian market, but not the infrastructure nor domestic market at present. Foundry and IOP While the foundry market is booming in Asia, producers are also reporting signs that the US foundry market is stabilising after years of shrinkage and the European market is finding niche application in manufacture of high tech products. Smelting pot Asia remains the fastest growing foundry market, with large metal casting countries, including China, India and Japan, reporting growth. Chinas car industry and construction continue to drive the market, with its car market set to eclipse the US market within the next ten years. Grey iron production increased from 11.27m. tonnes in 2004 to 13.9m. in 2006 while ductile iron production rose from 5.5m. tonnes to 6.8m. tonnes in the same period. Volclay DongMing has increased bentonite production over the past few years from 60,000 tpa to 138,000 tpa to supply the Chinese foundry market while Sd-Chemie also intends to expand its Chinese operations. Even though Indias foundry industry has experienced immense growth in the

Table 5: Metal casting production in 2006

Country China USA Japan India Germany Grey Iron 13.9m. 4.3m. 2.8m. 4.8m. 2.6m. Ductile Iron 6.8m. 4.1m. 2.0m. 762,200 1.7m.

Source: 41st Census of World Casting Production - 2006

past few years, with grey iron casting production overtaking the USA in 2006 (see Table 5), some believe external factors may play a part in the future. The foundry industry output in India had been growing at approx 15% for the last several years, however, one of the growth areas for casting, ie. the automobile sector is likely to come under a number of external impacts, so growth in these areas might be affected, explained Mukherjee of Ashapura. He added: Our bentonite market share (currently around 65%) for the Indian foundry markets had been steadily growing at a pace of 10-15% for the last several years and we expect this growth to continue. Ashapura also sees increasing opportunities in iron ore pelletisation (IOP), with several existing manufacturers ramping up capacity in India and opening new plants globally over the next few years. Mukherjee said to IM Our main focus is the IOP IM: market and we expect it to expand rapidly over the next few years with a number of pelletisation plants starting production in 2009 and 2010. In the USA, producers said the foundry market was flat, but were relieved it had stopped declining and showed some potential for growth in the future.

Close up: bentonite from mines near Bhuj, India. Courtesy Ashapura.

Oiled up: demand for edible oils is increasing in developing countries. Courtesy Olives101.

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Germany rising The European foundry market is also generally in good shape, with best performer Germany, seeing a 7% growth in the past year. The manufacture of high tech goods is driving the foundry market, Jochen Orlowski, corporate communications manager of Sd-Chemie, told IM IM. Companies are doing there high quality iron and aluminium casting here [Germany] and some are even exporting the parts to low cost countries. Vassillis Vontitsos, account executive of S&Bs bentonite division, also reported to IM that the foundry market is doing well in Germany, as well as being in rude health in Spain and Italy. Reasons behind the buoyant European market include the fear western and Japanese end product manufacturers have that their high tech products could be copied by Chinese rivals if they used foundries in China. Companies try to protect their innovations by producing parts in Europe before shipping to lower cost countries for assembly. New casting Russia has been hailed as a growing market for foundry and IOP and is proving tempting, with news that Amcol has bought a 25% stake in Russian bentonite company, Bentonit Group, which mainly supplies the IOP market. Larry Washow, president and chief executive officer told IM We believe IM: Russia has tremendous opportunity for growth. The main driver behind the IOP market is the investment in infrastructure from the oil and gas revenue, and they are on a major path to growth and development. S&Bs Vassillis Vontitsos agreed, telling IM Russia is booming with a IM: growing car industry, which will push the need for more foundries.

New markets
Food and fuel Growing populations and changing tastes are driving the bleaching clay markets in Asia. Acid activated bentonite is used to clarify edible oils for consumption. As people in developing countries become more health conscience, more and more are switching to vegetable oil instead of animal fats and butter.
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Sd-Chemie, the worlds largest bleaching clay producer, supplies several thousand tonnes of bentonite for food application and cited Indonesias palm oil as doing particularly well. Sd-Chemies Orlowski said to IM: The biggest influence to this market is people in Asia eating like Americans. China is a target and we feel its important to take part in the growth in Asia. Amcol remains a player in the vegetable oil filtration market, and has a 50-50 j-v with Ashapura in India, opening a 30,000 tpa processing plant to produce bleaching earths. Were finding that if people [in developing countries] can afford it, they prefer the clearer oil, said Amcols Washow. It also becomes the case, when they see the clearer product can be purchased, then the demand also increases. Wine clarification remains a niche well developed market with little growth, though some bentonite producers consider beer filtration a possible market to enter when considering all the established microbreweries. Biofuels are also behind some growth, especially in countries with established biofuel infrastructure, where bentonite can be used to remove impurities before it is pumped into cars. We see fluctuation in the US biofuel market, but Brazil is currently very strong, said Orlowski. Again, palm oil in Asia is also being used for biofuels, increasing the consumption of bentonite, although recent concerns about food shortages may curtail the production of biofuels in the future. Also, technology may mean second generation cars may used a different type of biofuel and reduce the need for bentonite. Sd-Chemie also reports a growing use of bentonite in animal feed. With intensive farming, the chance of fungus on feed is increasing. explained Dr. Hans Jrgen Wernicke, deputy chairman of Sd-Chemie managing board to IM and this is especially IM, true in humid countries, like Brazil or in Asia. Our product has the ability to absorb the microtoxins, making it safer for consumption.

As the worlds population increases, Sd-Chemie also predicts a healthy growth demand of over 10%. Acid burn Despite the increase in demand for bleaching earths and related products, increases in chemical prices (especially sulphuric acid) has squeezed margins and driven up costs. Sulphuric acid is used to dissolve impurities like calcite and alter crystal structures to increase absorbability in bleaching earths. The price of sulphuric acid has risen sharply over the past few months, from $90/tonne in October 2007 to $329/tonne in March 2008. Sd-Chemie has said sulphuric acid prices were a major factor in bleaching earth production, while Ashapura said they were directly linked with costs. The reasons behind rising sulphuric acid prices include the increased consumption in the production of copper, production of fertiliser and for water treatment. Once again, the industrialisation of China and India means these two countries, that could previously produce enough sulphuric acid for domestic use, now has to import to meet demand. Every cloud has a clay lining GCLs are another area for potential growth in developing countries. Despite recent reports predicting demand slowing down to 1.7%, instead of the predicted 4-5% in the USA (see IM May 08, p.28), China and India are seen as markets with potential growth. Amcol currently has GCL production facilities Australia, China, India (via a j-v with Ashapura), Poland, South Korea, and the UK. With our six plants worldwide producing GCLs from bentonite for landfill protection, weve wound up with an almost 50% market share and see major openings in China, India and Brazil, said Amcols Washow. The growing market in GCL, especially in India, is driven by concerns for the environment and government regulations. China has started using GCLs in a significant way, explained Mukherjee of Ashapura to IM and IM, the enforcement of stricter regulations [in India] will continue to drive the market.
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