Minerals
Industrial minerals traded internationally to the refractory, ceramic, steel, welding and flame-retardant industries, each one selected by the process it has to survive.
Products
Calcium fluoride, the primary industrial source of fluorine. Metallurgical grade lowers slag viscosity and fluxes impurities in steel and foundry work; acid grade, above 97% CaF₂, is the feedstock for hydrofluoric acid and the wider fluorochemical chain.
Crystalline carbon prized for the combination of high-temperature stability, lubricity and electrical conductivity. Flake grades carry refractory and battery demand; amorphous and vein grades serve carbon-raising and friction applications.
Stibnite, the sulphide ore that feeds the antimony chain. It is bought as concentrate on contained-metal terms and roasted downstream into trioxide or reduced to metal, so the ore itself is the raw position behind flame-retardant and battery-alloy supply.
The dense mineral fraction separated from placer sands, chiefly zircon, rutile, ilmenite and kyanite. Each is a distinct product: zircon for opacity and refractoriness, rutile and ilmenite for titanium and welding-flux chemistry, kyanite for high-alumina strength.
Magnesium oxide from calcined magnesite or seawater and brine. Dead-burned grades give basic refractories their resistance to steelmaking slags; fused grades push that further for the most demanding linings, while caustic-calcined grades serve chemical uses.
Zirconium oxide, produced from zircon or baddeleyite, combining a very high melting point with chemical inertness and, when stabilised, real toughness. It bridges heavy-duty refractories and advanced technical ceramics.
Aluminium oxide across the grades that matter to industry: calcined and tabular aluminas for high-alumina refractories and ceramics, and fused aluminas for abrasive grain. Phase and purity, not chemistry alone, decide where each grade belongs.
An alkali aluminosilicate that acts as a flux, lowering the melting point in ceramic bodies and glass batches and forming the glassy phase that binds them. Soda and potash grades are chosen for the melt behaviour each process needs.
A soft white clay of kaolinite, valued for brightness, fine platy particles and chemical stability. Calcined grades gain hardness and opacity, extending it from ceramic bodies into refractories and functional fillers.
Sedimentary or igneous apatite, the mineral source of phosphorus. It is traded on P₂O₅ content as feed for phosphoric acid and fertilisers, with lower-grade material going to direct application and technical uses.
This list is not exhaustive. Further materials on request.
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