Document kmDoOq0ogy2bydpONbv32YbgJ

'~ .(------------'--~---------------------------------~ CAM-292 TJ1a.'",: l',.)'c~' ,to.."0.",d~ra",JY;\"<',. .'the culmination of .. twenty years' growth ~__~--------~----------------------~---------J I, .i THE'term talc refers Ideally to a very pure hydrous or circulating waters that have leached magnesia-rich magnesillm 'silicate (3MgOASi02.H20) which has a theoretical chemical composition of 63.5 % SiOz, 31.7 % . MgO, 4.8 % H20. In nature, however, 'true' talc' is very rare 'and 'ivhen, it is found it is uSllally intimately ultrabasic ,rocks at depth. Minerals wi th a naturally high magnesia content formed during metamorphism., such as tremolite (Ca,(Mg,Fe)"Si,OdOH.b), diopsidc (CaMgShOG), and forsterite (Mg~SiOl);, may also be associated with numerous other 'minerals such as altered to talc. lOne of the best examples of talc serpentine, chlorite, tremolite, anthophyllite, diopside, deposits occurring in a' sedimentary environ,ment, is in quartz, 'calcite, dolomite, and magnesite. Thus 'talc' the Gouverneur District ofNew York State in the USA. is loosely used as a term to describe variolls minerals Within the Pre-Cambrian Grenville series; composed akin to the ideal chemical composition and, to a lesser ,of impure silicated metadolomite or 'marble', there 'extent,' .to the physical properties. Soapstone is a is a tremolite-anthophyllite-serpentine-talc schist which massive, soft, greenish ta1cose rock which is a mixture urnof talc and various other magnesi silicates. Steatite hosts the talc deposits. The formation of the deposit is thought to have been b)': hydrothermal solutions (sometimes termed lava talc) is a compal:t, massive replacing favourable beds of ,quartzite and metadolo- talcose rock with no visible grain and a maximum 'of 1.5 J;', each of CaO arid combined FeO and Fe~O~, and 4 % Aho.:. Pyrophyillte is a hydrated aluminium sili- cate(H~AI2(SiO')I) and is very, similar to talc, in its ph)isical pt'operties except in that it is somewhat harder and, unlike talc, do,cs notftux when tired. This gives mite with various metasilicates, which in' turn were later replaced by'talc and serpentine. The high grade deposits of the Ariege area in France and the Cottian Alps west of Pinerolo in Italy were formed by the low grade metamorphic replacC)l1ent of dolomite and do'lomi te-lime'stone. it 'great refractoriness which is useful in high-grade ceramic;;. Asbestine refers to a mixture of fIbrous talc and tremolite asbestos which has an approximate com- position of 85% hydr'ous magnesium silicate, 10% calcium silicate" and 2-3 ~~ c'alcium carbonate. Th'e three majors-Japan, USSR USA The current world, production of talc, soapstone, and Miperal deposits containing talc , The mint:ral talc is formed in a variety of ways and in a 11l1mber of geological ellvironments. Som'e talc and soapstone deposits milY form by the metamorphic alteration of ultra basic igneous rocks, that is by the process of serpentinization or steatization in which water attacks the oJigimil rock which is usually peridotite (a mixture of magnesium-rich olivine and pyrox~ ene). The mineral actinolite (a magnesia-rich, meta- 'morphic mineral which is a member of the amphibole group) .is formed 'first, and then chlori te (a layer-lattice mineral consisting- of talc units-:-MgGSi30~tlO.f{,Fk: sand wichcu between brucite layers--Mgf,(OH)l~). The chlorite in turn breaks down to form talc and a carbon- ate rock.' An exampie of this occurs in Vermont in' the USA where talc-bearing serpentine lenses are found within a sequence of schists, quartzites, and other metasedimentary rocks. The lenses are zoned with a core of serpentinite, surrounded by tale carbonate (termed 'grin, and then almost: pure mineral talc. When talc deposits are in sediment:1fY terrains the host rock is' lIsually dolomi tic limestone, since it hilS a natural magnesia content and may also contain silica (originally as sandy or cherty layers).' Other ,sources of the magnesia that is required 'to form talc have. been postulated to be either magnesi,i-rich brines, pyrophyllite' is o":"t!r 5m. tpa and is increasing steadily. At least thirty countries are listed ~s talc producers, although at the beginning of rhe 1970s Japan, the USA; and the USSR accounted for 61 ():~ of the total figurc. Japan is by far the ,,'orId's leading producer of pyro- phyllite and steatite \vith an annual output of over 2m. tons-the bulk being pyrophyllitc. About half of this production comes from Killl1imine KO"'a Kog!lo Co. Ltd.; other producers include CIlIIgai Kogyo KK. 'Chemichi /(og!lo' KK, and Nippon Talc Co. Ltd. Due to the enormous demand for talc by its domestic indus- tries, Japan's output has increased by 50.','(, over the lastdccade" and'has also stimulated a large increase in South Korca~ production 'which isclirrently over 250,000 tpa (16~,OOOtons of pyrophyllite a~d 92;000' tOllS of talc in 1972). ' The I1shil1 Illdllstrial Co. produce over 50,000 tpa' of talc at its Tongyang mine near Chungjoo City; other major South Korean talc mines arc at Fougyang and,at Shinbo. " Information regarding' production in the, USSR is very scanty, although the US Bureau of I\'lines esti!11ates, production to be, around 500,000 tpa. US talc prodLction doubles' After Japan, the USA, is the world's second largesr talc producer,with production doubling over the last . '15 l, ~j t~ .iIw~ lt~~ t~r.' ~~[~~' ,'lij April, 1975 Industrial Mine,rals JNJNL61_0000097fg , .\ I ":: . 1 :' Lwenty years to reach the present Jevd of 1.2rH. tpa (it should be noted that over 90 % of lapan's output is pyr()phyllitc whereas the equivalent. figure for the USA is only about 15 'X,) . . Despite this increase in production imports. still remain .at about 20,000 tpa, although the source has moved from Europe (that is the cosmetic grade material from France and Italy) to Canada. There are two .talc 'producing belts in the USA--in the east, stretching from Canada southwards . through New York ~'tate, Vermont, North Carolina, Geo:'gia, and Alabama; and in the west, taking in Cali- fornia, Montana, and Nevada. This partition is not only geographical:. talc from the eastern states is mainly fibrous, whereas western talc is platey, very pure, and very soft. .. Eastern t~lcs-Nytal, A$bestine, Emtal, Vertal' The main talc producer in New York State. is R. T. Vunderbilt Co; through its wholly owned subsidiary, Gouverneur Talc Co. Ltd.' which mines a tremolitic talc deposit at Balmat' in St. Lawrence County (this county is the most important talc producing area .in the world). The. talC has been mined and marketed for some time now' under the .trade name 'Nytal' which has becorneaccepted iri the local paper and paint industries. In May 1974. Vanderbilt increased its stake '.." in New York talc production by taki:1~ over the int;.'!'- ests of the International Talc Co., a major 'producer i'1. the state. The talc produced by this latter company is .marketed under the trade name of 'Asbestine' an..:! .is mainly consumed in the paint industry. To the south, Vermont talc, although not as bri~ht as the New York material, is in great demand for tllc .. paper industry and for use in industrial paints. Ens"!hard Minerals & Chemicals Corp. operates an untk;'. ground mine at Johnson in Vermont which it purchased from the Eastern l\lagnesia TaJc. Co. Inc. (pan of the Johnson & Johnson Group) in 1967. After pan:al beneficiation on wet gravity tables, the talc isfiot,tted, thickened, and filtered before it is dried and market::d under the trade name of 'Emtal' . Vern10nt Talc Inc . a wholly owned subsidiary of {"he Vermont Marble Co. since its purchase in November 1969; was established in 1904. The company now op(;ratcs a massive talc. deposit at Windham in Vermvnr . which is part of _a. serpentinite belt running from Massachusetts through the central part of' Vermont. northwards into Canada. After extraction by underground mining methods,.the. talc material is trUl:kt:d eleven miles to the. recently modernised processing plant at Chester; which is also the location of rhe Argel1tin~ .. Australia: talc . . pyrophyllite Brai:il: talc :: .. p);roplzyllile Bulgaria Burma ., Canada China* Chile Colombia Egypt Finland France West Germany Greece Hungary India: talc. pyroplryllite .. Italy Japan: talc pyrophyllite ...' .. , North. Koren" South Korea: talc; .';," PYrop/zy!lilc . Mexico Norwa{ .... Pakistan '. Paraguai . ., ,. . . .~' :. Peru: P)'I'op/zyllite Philippines ... . . Portugal Rumani,l South Africa :talc.f. . lI'ollddrSfolle Spain Swaziland Sweden .. Th3iland Taiw;;n UK ... ... ,. ." .. 1973 n.a. } 56,000 n.a. n.a. 23,000 n.a. 99,800 ]50,000 2,462 n.a. : ,., . 7,101 . 109,491 255,000 28,191 .2,465 : 16,000 190;901 14,063 146,546. n.u. n.u. n.a. 95,313:t. 224,040; .'. 2,1GB l"l.a. 3,9';1. n.tl. n.a. 1,631. 1,110 11'> .' " company's headquarters, The material is crushed and then ground by twO Raymond fIve rollcr, high-side mills to three standard grades, the fmest of which is a 98 ';I., minus 325 mesh product. The current production of Chound 15,000 tpa is sold under the trade name of 'Vertal', piJrticularly to plastic, rubber, paint, and paper manufacturers in the local New England region. Reserves at Windham are estimated to be adequate for 50 years, even at an increased production rate. Eastern pyrophyllite J11 North Carolina the Standard Mineral Co. (another subsidiary of' R. T, Vanderbilt Co.) mines pyro'phillite at Robbins. The mine was converted from an under- ground operation to an. open pit mine in the early 1940s and the original underground 'workings were com- '. pletely closed in 1966. The pyrophyllite product is non-\ hygroscopic and is therefore used as a refractory, in addition to its role as a filler in paints, rubber, and in pesticides. It is marketed under the trade name of 'Pyrax'. Another Vermont producer is Gimeral Minerals Co, il1c., a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Olean Tile Co.~ which operates an open pit pyrophyllite mine at Greensboro. '. . Of the less weil documented deposits of . talc, the low-grade talc deposit in Tallapoosa County in Alabama is the most important. Essentially thi:') deposit consists of ",nstatite-anthophyllite-talc particles disseminated in a deeply weathered rock environment. Small .scale mining was initiated by the. American Talc Co. Inc. in i969 and potential capacity was placed at about 5,000 tpa with reserves at 8m. tons. In Georgia, where the talc produced is of a greyish colour, Pioneer Talc (in OWhiCh Whittaker, Clark & Daniels is thought to. have an interest) prod uces most of the state's' 50,000 tpa production: Western tales Talc production in the western USA is dominated by two major comp'anies-Cyprus Indllstrial Minerals Co. and Pfizer Inc.-both with a number of production sites in California, Nevada, Montana, and, on a smaller scale, in Texas and Nebraska. A number of other com-. panies. are involved in the talc indu'stry in the west, notably Jolzns-1HarlVillc and R. T. Vanderbilt; Cyprus Industrial Minerals Company Cyprus Industrial Minerals Company.. f6rmedy the United Sierra Division of Cyprus Mines Corp., is one of the largest producers of t;lc in the world.'Cyprus Mines is active in a number of uS states, particularly California, Montana, Texas, Nebrasb,. and Nevada, as well as in Belgium, Mexico; and Japan. Production in Montana mainly. comes from the operations at Beaverhead (opened in. 1969) and Yeliowstone, bO.th of which are open pits. On the other hand, production in California and Nevada is inainly undergrouud-talc from the north and east of Death Valley in California is a pure cosmetic~ ofgrade steatite, whereas' the material from the south and east is an .inferior ql;ality. Soiltlw..'estcl'I1 Talc, a o Cyprus Mines' subsidiary, l;lines talc in Texas. The proJuct is black due to a high carbon content but this' volatiliscs on heating to give a good. white product. The company's. ThrceForks mill in Gallatin County, j\:lontana produces 'Mistron Vapor', an ultra-fine product based on talc from the Yellowstone mine. 'Mistron Vapor' came on to. the market iri' 1957 and has since proved vcry popular particularly for pitch control in. the pulp and paper industry. It has been announced (CSDfm m~WlU~Hl'~ &VMlMl~faH$LimB~~d Wharton Lodge Mills, Nat Lane, Winsford, Cheshire,.Tel: Win'sford (STD 06065) 2291 Telex': 667059 . members of the Leigh and Sillavan Group JOi!)t owners of Trik,nd Metals Limited .. Rir.g Dealing Members' of the London Metal Exchange .. .;. JNJNL61_000009749 recently that $3m. has been allocated to expand the prodLI,;tion of 'l\listron Vapor' by 50 ';~ which will mean a corresponding increa~;e in the output from the Ycllow- stuaemine. Montana talc is also processed at a mill at Aider, and the company.operatcs two mills in Owens valley, C,!lifurnia(processing cosmetic-grade steatite fr(ll1l Death Valley) and at Los Angeles (processing poorer grade talCs used in the paper and paint industry). The processing and: handling facilities at Ghent in Belgium is fed .by imported US and Australian raw material which is shipped in bulk prior to processing and redistribution. In Mexico City local talc produc- tion is processeed by a subsidiary, mainly for usc in rubber and insecticides: Last sLlmmer (1974) Cypnis mines relocated its. headquarters and laboratory facili- ties from Trenton, New Jersey, to Los Angeles in' California.' . Pfizer, Inc, in Montana and California The Minerals, Pigments, Metals Division of Pfi;.er, Tnc; operates two talc ini'nes in the \vestein' USA, one at Barretts in Beaverhead County, Montan~ (formerly owned by the Tri~State Minerals.: Co.). and. in Death.: Valley, San BernardinoCot{rity in California.. At the . Barretts mine the. steatite variety of talc is extracted from the open pit and transported to the _processing plant to pe washed, sorted, crushed,. ground and bagged. The main grade is marketed under the trade name of 'Cercron' (that is an ,amalgamation cif. ceramic and micron) and is mainly consumed in the ceramics in- .dustry--other. grades include .'Microia1c~ and 'Talcron' , which are used in the paper, paint, and cosmetics in- dustries as well as in ceramic? Pfizer's other industrial mineral interests' include barytes" limestone, mi neral pigl\lents, and wollastonite. . :.,: ",1 ....... . Mitchelll'la, 28 T.V. Dryer fa:.. THERMO-PLASTIC Powders. Some other producers. As well as operating talc deposits' in the eastern States,.. R. T: Vanderbilt also owns Western . Talc Co. of Los Angeles, which operated a mine. at Tecopa: This opera- \ tion, was placed on standby during 1974 a\~ajting results \.,. from further .feasibility studies of the deposits.. At the \ same time, the Dunn Siding.Mill; which processed ttie \ . Tecopa material', was sold: In mid 1972 the Celite ofDivisic)n of Johns-Manville CT-M) of Dem;~r, Colorado . took over the' interests the L.Grantham Corporation .. and so became the'. parent company of Desert Minerals .. Illc. v/hich operated srriallta1c minesin.:Qeatb Valley" California. ThllS.JM broaclened its interests by 'adding talc to its range 9findustrial minerals.. .which includes.. rM . asbestos, perlite;. arid.' d.ia,tc:imite.. arecu:rrently.:. looking at the' possibility of marketing their talc in Europe, particularly the very high-grade varieties, ahd ~. Low injtialt~pitai ~ost @ - High thermal efficiency o .Low milintenance tusts . High praduct qualit" ' .. Q lcVi/ther~nal. c<;lpacity . IS liigh p,roduction rates : ; . .:: ,'. '@ ~ew labour' costs is also examining a talc prospect in Canada. If the Can,adian . deposit proves' 'ccon,omicaL itcbulcl ,be' in.., . production by the year end. ...' Canada-production and exp'or'ts rise T'lle mining began in Canada in the late nineteenth \OTHEfl'ORYEI1S.~1ItTHL'r;J!TCilElL:- Hr~PIGE . Rotary Dryers:. 'Coolers and Ca!.ciners. Film Drum Dryers und Flakers~ iV1cchiJriicai Pan imd Doubla Cone Dryers ar:d Blender.s. Fluid Bed Dryers and Coolers. Convoyor Band Dryers. Spr~y Dryers. . Forced Convection Sioves. : centurv when deposits in Bolton Township, South Quebec and in Huntingdon' Township In the. Madoc district of Ontario started production. These areas are st'ill pl~oductivc with Baker TCIlc Ltd. producing some 10,000 tpa' from its' talc/s.oapstone underground mine lfllRfTE FORT. V.. PNEUMATiC DRYERS lEAFLET fl/JD 31 .. . at Sou tb .Bolt.on (the material is processed at the High- .warer mill.by .both wet, and :di:ymethods)and Canadian Talc Illdustries' Ltd . produciilg high ..quality .talc at its l'.nderground .\vorkiilgsat Madoc, Brollghtoll.Soapslone . 'in& Q!lurry'Ltd. produces low grade talc for use sculp~ ture and crayons from its mine at Broughton in eastern' DENTON HOLME CARLISLE CA2 SOU ENG'-AND TEl~PHONE: CARLISLE 24205 TELEX: 64139 CA8l~: C;WERS C:'RLiS~= i i April, 1975 . . Industrial Minerals . 19 . .JNJNL61_00000975 '- ~ Quebec. The only Canadian source of pyrophyllite is a mine at Manllcls, 12 miles southwest of St. John's in o Newfoundland, owned by Newfol/lldlcmd Minerals Ltd., . a subsidiary of the American Olean Tile Co. Ltd. which in turn is a subsidiary of the National Gypsum Co. The production (which was 37,000 tons in 1972) is shipped to the parent company's factory at Landsdale in Pennsylvania where it is used in the mal1ufactLire . of ceramic tiles. . atThe Timmins area .for its mining activity, Ontario particula r ha ly s t lo he n e'o"arblye e n famed g.old in- dustry in the 'Porcupine Gold Belt' which included the. legendary Hollinger Consolidated, McIntyre, Porcupine, Paymaster, and Dome mines among .the 36 mines which have produced 30m. ounces of gold. In 1959 the geological and mining consultarits, Watts, Griffis, and McOuat, recognised the area staked for gold as a. poten- . tial source of magnesite 'and talc, Thus Ca.nadian Mag- nesit~ iVfines Ltd. was' formed to exploit the deposit which. is located in the Deloro and Adams Townships, near Timmins. Pilot tests on the deposit began in con- . junction with Cimadi:m Johns-Manville whoheid an' option on the property with Canadian Magnesite up until October 1973 ..Since then Canadian Magnesite has carried on with the evaluation and .has just completed bench scale and pilot 'plant testing. Sample evaluation to date indicates that it isa good quality talc with high brightness, a platy structure with no fibres, less than 2 ppm arsenic, and only trace amounts of lead and, calcium. The rnaterial is thought to be suitable for ceramics, paper, and cosmetics, and the company is currently carrying out pilot plant evaluation which will .0 be followed by a m.arket survey. Canadian Magnesite are confident that the project \vill be financed to the production: stage. (See 1M April '71 for details of the deposit)'. It has. been . rumoured recently that Johns- Manville is evaluating ailOther talccleposit in Canada and that a d.ecision is expected soon. Details, howev~r, are very scarce. In Whitney Township, also near Timmins.' a . Talc i magnesite deposit is in the ,icivanced stages o'{ explora~ , tion and a go/no-g,?~decision is expected sooil, possibly later this, year. The deposit is free from quartz in-' ,elusions and contains 90 "X, combined talc and magnesite. Reserves are around 100m. IOns.' ',. Production in 'Europe "i' France and Italy are. :Eur~pe's leading talc producers' with an average annual' production of 250,000 ~llld 150,000 tons 'respectively. Most 6f this talc i's of a ven' high ~ quality 'yi ~h' little or. no .contamination, a'nd s~) it is gr'eatly coveted throughout" the world, par,titularly', for use in the cosmetic industry. Thus the talc pro duced commands a 'high price' and is exp'orted to various countries in relatively small lots. In Franct.', the main producer is SA des Tales de Luzenac,' \,,-hose . production from mines on the nor,th slopes of the Pyrenees in Aricge, account for virtually all the talc produced in France (this is particularly t'rue since it recently took over the operations of SA j\1illes de' Carrot). In 1973 the company produced a total of" 250,000 tons of talc (compared with 224,000 tons in 1972 and 21.7;00I Q'tonsin 197. 1) of wh.ich i,. S4,OOOtons. was consumed in France (169,000 tons and:l65,OOO tons . in 1972 and 19'71 respecth'ely), arid 66,000 tons was . exported (55,000. tons and 52,000 tons).. The pro- duction'is to be' increased to 300,000 tons i,n the near future . . .' , The major talc-producing area in' Italy,', lies west of aPinerolo in the Cottian Alps where 1,500 square kilometre' area stretching from the Dora Riparia Valley in the north to. the Torrente Maira Valley in the south .. has been Known as a source of talc since the seventeenth. century. The depc1sits were first .operated.by small family concerns which gradually dwindled in numbe: so that in 1921 the two surviving operators merged to form the basis of Italy's leading talc procbcer, Soeieta o ..... .~ , :.' L~ i. ':"': """, . .". " ~.~'. .(;. k "', , .:.., '\. .' . .} !. . . ! ,'. ~ ,; S~cieta Talco e Graii!e val Chisone's talc min~ , '. , in. the central part oi the Germanasca Valley ~n Italy, The building In the lower central part of the picture is the processing: plan! where the. mined material is crushed. screened, dried, selected on the basis of hardness, and then . milled. Pmt of the production is also , micronised.. Industrial Minerals April, 1975 Talco e Ghl/ite, L'a! ehisor/e. A t one time thc' area boasted ,seven WOrKIl):'; mines--,Ia lvlinicra, Rous:,a, M:miglia, Fontane, lt~ Miniere Envie, Sapatlc, CO(Jloa l<t Fratia, and Malzas-but today, because" of dep1c:tcd reserves, the' area's 'sole productive mi neis la Minicra Fomane, in the central' part of the Gcrmanasca Valley, like the' French (and' the Austrian) deposits. the genesis of the Italian talc is' considered to be by hydrothermal and low-grade, metamorphic replacement ': of local dolomi te ,and c,tolomitic limestone, The commercial talc is totally ,'unconnected with the serpentinites outnopping in the region. Thus the talc contains only trace amounts of silicates (such as chrysotile, tremolite, chlorite) and it "is practically free from carbonate minerals (such as calcite, dolomite, siderite) Production and sales for Soc. Talco ,e Graphite valIChisone " 1969 ,1970 ,1971 ,1972 1973 Proportion sold in Ital}; (%) ," ,. .. 42.5840:48 48.26 40,G8 41.73 Proportion sold abroad , (except USA) (~;) 51.17 41,75, 43,.33 41.04 50,83 Proportion, sold (0,' USA (%)' ' 6,25 17, 7i 8.4118.28 7,44 'Total productiori (metric 'tons) " ' '69,994,79,825 7l,787 82,112,71,802 ,1-', Typical chemical analysis of la Miniera Fontane talc SiO. MgO FeoO,. 61,80% 3l.65% 0.59;::: PS20S, Pb 0,06% 0,03% 1-'-2ppm AI"O, 0,60% As CaO. 0',20% Cu H~O+CO" 5.16% Ni Ti02 O,05%rv!11 Soufee,' 'Il Talco del Pilierolese' by p, Sartoria "O;3ppm ' 4ppm '6ppm ' 0,002% quarrz; ac'tinolite, s~llphides, andiron oxides. 'Th'is pure chemistry, allied to its lamellar rather than fibroli::; ,structure, has given Italian talc an international reputa~ 'tion ,for' consistent high quality, and has made it iMal for lLSC in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries" (see table for chemical analysis), ' " " at',In 'orcl(!r 'to maintain 'this replltation; the bene- ficiation techniques' employed lal\liniera Fontane \ \ arc 'of the upmost importance. The, mine~t material first llOdel:goes primary crushing"and sCl:eenirlg 'through a .I 2r'r;m, seive, drying in' a cYlindridll dryer, :and sel~c~ tio!1:by a,Raymond selector to exclude' particles above a set hardness, before a fil1 al'n1ilting in closed cii-cuit to a 99.5 %,'mirius 200 mesh product. Some ,oE this of,rnateria:l is ,.then microniscd to sizes 30, 20, and ] 0 microns. At each sta'ge of. the processing '(and the undergrourid Inini:lig)':'g~e~t cifreis 'taken ;!lot to iiitrodtice any contaminat\on, either 'in ,the form of bacteria or as; fon~ign rni!,\cral 'matter." ", " Despite the company's; incorne 'fronl'jalcsales ,cone' 'til1liing to rise~over the last' fe~V' years, th'ea'ctuai ton- nages - prOdtlCed ari~'I exported, ,has decreased" probably due,to donlestic ii1dustrial' di~i'u'pti()ns'and' iliternational trade problems, Over 60 r... of the' cornpany's produc- tion'-which in 1973w<ls nearly 72,000 tons otlt of a total Italian talc production of 146,000 tons--is, ex- ported, and this pcrcentage has remained' constarit over' recent years. 'Sales to the USA; however, have dropped tofrom over 18'}~ of ,the company's exports in 1972 . only just over, 7~(, )n'1973: the deficit has been taken up, by other, non-Italian consumers (see accompanying table), .,' The, n'lain,p;:oducer, in' '.vest ,Gcrmimy, Sclzeruhn , Talklim-Bergb'all;' works the talc deposits of the Schwar. '~zeil1:iach /Sa,;learea _of Northe):~riavaria in south-east ,c;e'rnia,~y, 'The . ,'talc 'i~ interJilixed' .;'vith, olltcropping serpl:ntine and tl:emolite lenses, and this makes mining . a relativel~! s:m,ple oppr~tjon, Aft::!!' blasting, the Il1atel'- .. .::.~~~t'Elii:~";:" :A view of the, w~rkjng face of CantiereCrosetto jn fa Miniera Fontane, Italy, . The, ,'p!ates' of tole, are being prlsed away by the drill before 'it' is' transported to the processing ,plant for primary crushing. ial is tra~sported 'by. tippei~~trucks to the piant wber~, it is crushed andfea ',in:to hammu and ball mitis. The very fllle' grades are !'eparated by at!: classificr.cion. Th~ various liscs to \."hich, the material. is put deF~nds upon the composition of' the' mate6aJ.<!nd pai:tic.uhdy' the' 'contents Of ;seroentin(! and tremolite. ,Some' of the, '.producti'~'n is.hred" toprodu,ce. a temperature-stable;' product which' is' widely used -as a raw material in high-Class ceramiC ,goods_ Other: material: is tlSel't: for. fIllers n'otably in pl~sticswherethe tremolitic-fibrous 'nature: leads to good; binding properties.' The talc has' "been exploit,,4 siilCe. the beginnLng of the century and 'res~rv'es ~lre'tholiiht ,'rQ be. adeqaatz. for m,iny :!iears to ' come:.. ' .. 'Although Talkilili(~leri<:e.Naintsch: GmbH. l~ad its. be- ,ginnidgs,a:;: a:pyrite'prodt!c:e.l< the cOnl!)any is" tod'ay almost exclusively invaI\'c.:f in. the exploitation, pl'Oce:'3- ing, and' marketing of tide. In Allstria, the company now has ,an affili'ated tak-producing comp:my, Oster- In, reiscile Talkunzilldllstrie GmbH, as well 'as an affiliated .coillpany for marketing Europe, Naintsch Mineral- wed'!? GmbH. . All the; comp:mies are owned by Erich von Kiwisch and his two sons:, '' Today the company's production is concentrated Ort . three sites-RabenwaJd" Lassing, an'd Weisskirc:1cn. Tl-ie R3be!l\vald deposit is e~ploited' by' ,both undc:r- ,ground and openpitmruln:g and the crude m:lteriai is . processed at plants at Ang~r, Obc'rfeistritz. an.d Srub,;,rt- berg: In addi tion; s6meinatcl~'i3:1 is milled at the W::'!iss,kir~hen micronising pIa~t for use in sp:;dali~edtield's. The' talc ore at ,Lassing" an intimate mixture of mag,- April, 1975 Industrial Minerals 21 ., ~, FOR FROM . PRODUCED BY' 00 Ott .IHlANDOILS TAUS1lENS AD of the g..~o9t11ncs G10llJP -'. LUMPY POWDERED CRUSHED CONTACT fPleT~~ KuNNlER 73 WILKINSON STREET' SHEFFIELD ENGLAND Telephone: Sheffield (0742) 20345 Telex 54363 . Cable 'Skinner Sheffleld' Y Am C'.. ~ill ;/ '~.'ITj$I''" \ In lumps and powder Superior in Purity, Quality and' Consistency Special grades for: Electroceramics Paint industry Please contact us for your. requirements .~. SCHERUHru [0] TALKUM-SEJ:lGBAU. 867 HoI, Postfach 1329 Te!efon 09281~1934. Telex 643746 Western Germany 22 nesite and talc, is extracted by underground methods and is processed locally. Because of the product'~ ex- ceptional whiteness, it is utilized as a filler. in paint and sold as 'SE micro' .or special extender. The raw material at Weisskirchen consists essemiaJ!yof chlorite (a green hydrous magnesium-aluminium silicate), from which mica and quartz impurities must be remov,::d. Specialised processing at the local plan t yields 'Plastorit .. Naintsch' for lise in the paint, varnish, and pbstic industries where it serves to increase c1asticity,adhes~on, resistance to weathering, .cohesion, and impro\,,;s the' efficiency of the binders. In 1973 the company's total talc production was 86,000 tons which constituted over 93 % of the national output. 80 % of this production was exported, mainly to West 'Germany. Italv and Swi tzer-' land. .. ." Finland's only talc producer is Sllomen Talkki Oy which operates the Lahnaslampi mine at Sotkamo .in northern Finland. This .operation was owned by L.ohjan Kalkkitehdas Oy till United Paper' AWls Ltd. took control of, the company earlier this year. Since 1969 the talc/magnesite material has been treated by a flotation method and the production of this beneficiated material is currently about 130,000 tpa, although plans to increase this to 300,000 tpa are in hand. (See I:,.,f Dec. .'74.) AjS Norwegian Talc is the largest Norwegian talc. producer operating .two mines-the larger is at Altemark near Mo i Rana (yielding 35,00.0.-40.,00.0. tons' of micronisedtalc processed at the. Knarrevik plant) and t~e other is at Framfjord in the Sognefjord region' (producing 12,00.0 tons of coarse material). Ostlands!':e Stemxport AjS of Otta produces 35,0.0.0-40,000 tpa' and Smestad & Saetre A/S of Kvamhave' an annual output of around 25,000 tons (see 1M Jan. '75).. Sweden produced over 28,Oo.Otoris of talc in 1973, . nwch of which was consumed in the large domestic paper and pulp industry. '. One producer of note is Hal/dots Tiiljstens AB, a subsidiary of the large refrac- . tory producer Hoganas AB, which produces talc as well as olivine at HandOl (in faci: the comp,lny's name infers that it produces talc). The UK has recently begun to' import talc from Sweden (see section on trade) and the statistics shmv that it rose to over 3,000. tons in 1974. However, . Peter Skinner, the Sheffield-based minerals merchant, imports in the region of 5,000 tpa of talc '. from HandOls Ttiljstens AB and is their sole UK ann European representative.. The discrepancy in the figureS can be explained by the fact that some Swedish talc is exported through a Norwegian port and so in the official statistics it' is shown as. of Norwegian origin. . When the material enters the UK it is processed into four maingrades-16-36, 36-70, minus 70, and minus 200 mesh-and is consumed mainly as a filler and in dusting roofing felts.. Shetland talc prbductiondoubles Talc occurrences in the UK are almost exclush'oIy cOP.fined to hydrothermally . :iitered serpentinite' bodies found in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. in COr!1/all, and Anglesey in North W<lles. By far the most important source of talc in the UK-in fact the. sole source except fOl' minute amounts of talco5e Polyrhant stone 'produced by Clarboroltgh Prod/lets Ltd. at Polyphan tin CornwaH-is the talc-magnesite deposit. near to Baltasound on Unst, the northernrnos[ island in the ShetJands off the northeast coast of Scotland. Although'the exploitation of these talc-bearing rocks is thought to have begun some time ago 'With tht' m,inufacture of pots,. hearth-stones. etc.. commercial production did'lIot begin until. after the 1939-45 wa:' Industrial Mi~erJls: April~III.m1;6.1_ .' .1>: . :. . ;, whcn Alexander Sandisoll & SOilS Ltd. began to 'exploit says that the increase in production came about ctLie the Quayhollse or Quays Quarry. This deposit is to a decrease in the comp<!titiveness of imported situated near the western edge of the serpentinite mass Norwegian talc which was brought ".bout by the large which covers the central St:::tion of the island and is ,increases in freight charges and the firming of Nor- ' sandwiched in between a gneiss complex on the west wegian currency' with respect to Sterling. A second and greenstones on the cast., Recent exploration in the mill has been installed at'the Yate Mill to process the area by Alexander Sandison and English China Clays extra production. In this way the domcstic source has proved 400,OaO tons of reserves both in the original becam'e economically attractive and thus increased its quarry and in a number of nearby localities. An addi- proportion of the UK market particularly for ,use in tional 500,OaO tons of reserves is also kriown at an as fertilizers (as an anti-cake rpaterial), in' roofing felt, in yet unworked talc-magnesite deposit at Cunningsburgh insecticides, and in foundry requisites. , on the Mainland of Shetland. ' The Unst tate-magnesite is mined hy open-pit methods Others such as blasting' or ripping, and is transported by truck to the company's private wharf four ,miles away, from where it is shipped in butk to Sharpness in the southwe"t of England. ,The milling and marketing of the Shetland talc is the, resposibility of English China Clay Ltd. (ECC) who take over ,the crude talc at Sharpness harbour, The material is sent to the nearby Yate Mill Spain is another major talc producer with an average .production of 40,OOOtpa between 1970 and 1973 and its neighbour in the Iberian Peninsula, Portugal, has a modest output of just over 1,000 tpa. In the' Eastern Bloc, Bulgaria had an output of 23,000 tons in 1974<and Hungary produced some 16,000 tons in 1973. where, it is crushed, dried, and miIledinto three standard grades--lOO, 200, 30!) mesh (intermediate grades are also available). About 5 % of the Shetland talc is Therrest of the world?s , ,lPlr(i)~tUlceJr micronised by an ECC subsidiary,' Rogers and Cooke (Salisbury) Ltd. at their Quidhampton mill near Salis- Australian production on the up bury. This mill also micronises imported Chinese talc, grinds marble, and custom grinds magnesi.te (see 1M' Sept. 74). The final products are marketed through Ece Sales Ltd. ' Production of talc (including steatite) in 'Atlstralia has ,averaged just under 50,006 tpa over the last five years, with, Western Australia contributing about '75 % of this overall production. A major West Australian producer The output of Shetland talc averaged between 9,000 is Three Springs Talc (Pty) Ltd., a company ,jointly and] 0,000 tpa throughout most of the 1960s, but then owned, by Western, Mining Corporation Ltd. and expanded to 12,000 tpa in 1971, 16,000 tpa in 1972, Universal Milling, Co. (Pty) Ltd." which operates an and reached 20,OOa tpa in 1973'.' ProductioiI last year open-pit s'teatite/soapstone mine 13km. east of Three _ is estimated to have exceeded the 1973 output. ECe Springs and 340km. n~rth of Perth. The talc is con- l I'T""'T":.,'~:~', .,.;r.~ . t" ' :.. .' . 'C::," " smlKHOUSE COURT,TIJHEB~\RN ST~EEi . L~VEIP OL,' L2 ',llQ ~ leading suppliers of l 'C"',', ,f!' .\ t . ,. f Telephone: 051-236 2995/8 Telex: 62173~EVERITT, lPl' , Telegrams: "PERSISTENT'.'i LIVERPOOL, Apfil, ",975 Industrial Minerals J bined in a 15 acr<: lentlcu!:J.r body and was formed by .:1 replacement proc;('.ss during the metamorphism of loc:!l Prorerozok magneslum limestones. When the new company Ivas formed in 1960, its first step was to dis continue underground mining and to intro'duce open pic methods. From the pit the material is inovedto the processing plant (which was opened in 1968) where it is .erushed, hand-sorted, and then sampled automatically' <lccorciirig to colour. Salcs fo), the financial year. eliding 18/6/1974 amounted to about 49,000 tons, most of whkh was exportEtd to Japan and to Europe via Fremantle., All sales" excepting those in Australia and New Zealand, arc ;handled by Cyprus Industrial Minerals of the USA which has processing and distribution facilities in Ghent, Belgium, to supply European customers. . Westside Talc; WesternAustrali,a . Westside Mines NL was formed about six years ago as .. an entirely public-o~vnedcoinpany to exploit atilc no.deposit found at'Mt. Seabrook, ahout miles north of Meekathar~a in Western Australia. After a number of trial shipments to potential customers, particllJar(V in Japan, thecompany'has Ii~W bl:o~ght the mine into production. with an output q.f 15,000. to , 20,000 tpa and plans are iri~ hand to increase this .to.' orabout 40,000 tpa over the' next three foul: years.': The maferial is extracted .by strip mining since the talc-bearing rock is>very near to the surbce. Pro- cessing of the material wiUiriitialIy be restricted to crushing the rock at the mine-site, screening through a . grizzly, removing any' iron oxide staining by \vater attrition,. and then. hand-s.orting to remove any free bequartz: It is probable that three grades will available . eventually, selected bY colour (less thari.88%, 88-90 %; and over 90 % whiteness at ~ 325 mesh). The rated capaciJY of the plant is )0,000 tpa on tile basis ofari 8hour shift, and thereforeworkirig on three shifts the" theQreticalcapaci ty is nearly l(Hi,OOO tpa, a1 though it is very unlikely this' figure will . be :reached jn practice. Current known reserves ai'c adeqllatefor about twenty years' p!"pduction on the above basis. . . " Aniillga/11et Australia Ltd,, 'the Austt'aiial~ ;subsidiarY . of ANie, thei nternationcil 'metals and minerals tj'aders, . are sh~mholders iil Westside Talc NL and h~lVe sole control of 'World-wide marketing. The deposit .consists . of a white micaceous; foliated; tremoiiticta1c, \vhichis claimed to .be asbestos_free, and has a very low lead (20 ppm) andarsenic(2~ppm) 'cQiltcnt., Thcscpropcrties, together' with'. its good miIlrnich3r~(:terjstics fulfil VK .. and USA healthi:egulations,. and make it kleal for usc in cosrne.tics (?ee page 29 it also, ha~poten'tii1.1 as an: industriaIfiiler,particu1ciriY'irl' the paint and 'paper., trade: .The' inter.cst hjr Japimese. consiimers i.niNpstside: lower grade talc stems ,jlbt,o~ly :froni: the'. now. estab- lished .mi.neraL.trade b(iru,:cen: Japariand' J\uitralb,' out in:also from iecent indications ,of irregularity supplies , from China'. Amalgamct. h'as also found intercst in Europe. where it plans to build storage and processing facilities, to providc a direct' customer service. The USA. has also been earmarked as ,a future market. The ,t~tlc will be shipped in 2,000 tC) 5,000 tOll iots initially through Freman tIe but, when the Allied Eneabba Pty Ltd.'s mineral sands project comes on stream later this year, shipping facilities built at Geraldton to handle the n1ill('xal, s;Hlds production could also handle tVestside Talc,. Thus bu.!k shipmeht: of. talc Ironi A llstl'<ilia, to .. Ellrope \vould.be able.. toc6mp.et.e\~itlJ ,(he. ttadi,tional; EUl'c;pean sources', particlihirly 'if thecurrcrit ICHvlevd 'of. 'freight rates contimies. .'South Austraiia and 'Ne"v South VVales .,' Production of talc and soapstont: in S:)uth Ausr.ri!l!~i averages abollt 11,000 tpa, most of which is produced. at Mount Fitton, in the northern Fl.inder:; lbngcs.The main company involved is the Minerals Divisietl d Steetle!J Australasia Ply Ltd. aud. to J. lesser e:W~n, .. industrial Rock Miizes Pty Ltd. Other South Ausn:dian talC producers are the Ready-iHix Crollp and Torren.;. Mining Co. Ltd. Talc production in New South '"Vales is less than a },OOO tpa but pyrophyllitc output increased from 6,596 tons in 1971 to 12,299 tons in 1972. India-diversity of sources In 1972, out of a total Indian steatite/talc producrio!l of some 189,342 tons, the state of Rajasthan produced 173,020 tons. Within Rajasthan the. Uc!aipur distr;;.:;: had elll output of over 66:,000 tons in the same y(oar (that is about a third of the national output), ma?nly from mines operated by the Ass,ocia.ted SQClpstOlle Dis-. triblitingCo. (Pvt.) Ltd_ The main pi:odncing companY in Jaipur" the. se.cond largest: producing district \,lith 37,000 tpa, is the /aipllr !vlil1eral! De1.'elopillent Syndicate (Pv.[.) Ltd.. operating ::I. mine; 1i" miLes from Dausa, The material is processedtoc:lliy/ where. the. 2,500 tpm feed is milled to produce' about 2',000- tpm of talc pow'der. Negotiations are presently j'll hand to instaU micronisin~ facilities, The ,company, exports;, high grade material to the UK, .the USA,. France,. Yi.lgoslavia, Japan, and Australia..'The third district of RajC!st-han is Bhi!wara with a prodllction of, about- 24,O(}O tpa, the major' 'company being UdaipurlYfill.eral Development Syndicate (Put) Ltd, Other producing s.tates include Andhra Pradesh, (6,072 tons in; ,1912)" Madhya Pradesh (6,808 tons), Maharashtra, ~?',0!40, to.ns}, and Uttar Pradesh I--~~----~~----~----~~'--------- .. ElUlR@llP/EAlNl'@~~ 2~ <t::!HtE!rr:lff:tAa. ..... TlRAJPU'NG:i C@~,Ii.Tin)" 135 The Parade;,High Street;W~tford, Herts: ".WD: l tNA '.,. " .; ".',: . :..... :.-.. ~ . . ' ',For ..' ,", .',.' ~ ... ',ft~~rcit~', ......:. .'E~Jl,t: . Pe&4TIite Kiesellgublr . lhm$uiatiol1ll: Mate1t"ia~ , IFftJlteir"j.1.ia!ls, Telepl1omi:\JVATFORD 2308B. :. Apri I, 1975 Ihdustrial Milierals ,,j' .J; (1,014 tons). Since .0ver100 operators are activc it is properties of the mined material. . Pure or 'true' 'talc evident that the majority of these operations are on a is white-to-silvery. white in colour, has a greasy feel. a '. very small scale indeed. , Thailand's talc production rose from 50 tons in 1971, to 1,550 tons in J 972, and thcn to 9,550 tons in 1973. Although there are no ofllcial production figures available from Afgh;lOistan. Kabul radio reported on May 4,1974, specific gravity of 2.75 .. and a hardness of one on the Mohs scale (talc was. arbitrarily' chosen as the Jow~r . cnd of the Mohs scale of hardness and diamond as the' upper iimit). Sorneadditional properties that make talc particularly. useful in industry include: a high that "300,000 tons from the Mama Kheyl mine in whiteness. softness, and smoothness; a good lustr.;;' Nangarhar were awaitin:,? export" (sourcc>Institute of high slip or dry .lubricating po\ver; chemical. inertness; Gcological Sciences, London). . a high fusion point, specific': heat, and resistance to hea t Talc rroduction in Africa is very modest with a 1973 shock; low thermal and electrical conductivity and . total of around 12,000 tons. The largest producers are shrinkage; good oil and grease absorption; and a good South Africa, which has averaged about 8,000 tpa over retention as a filler. . the last seven years, and Zambia, with a production of Very few talcs can be used directly from the mine. 2,32) tons in 1972, 713 tons in 1973, and 4,521 tons in and most have to' be upgraded. treated, and cleaned 1974. Swaziland, has a production of less than a 1,000 before they are of any use. Italian and French materials tons of pyrophyllite. In North Africa, Egypt's 1967 have built up a rep,utation for natural purity, a quality production of 30.000 tons (a USBM estimate) has drop- particularly needed in the cosmetics industry. These ped to average 6,000 tpa over, recent years. talcs command a high market price which in turn means . that the material can be traded economically inrela- G1ra&l~ and pJrittes . tively small quantiti'es (see trade section on page 30). The stranglehold these naturally pure ta!es:had on the, The industrial utilisation of talc depends largely upon . the chemical (see accompanying table) and physical _~I . market has been somewhat. eroded in recen t ycars through the application of sophisticated beneficiation' .,, The average chemical' compositiiinof some C(lnimercial tales [i'allce Italy Chilla AI/stria .Llizellac grade Val Chisone Microlli.\ed Best II'hUe O~S . MT 120 . MW4 . (Mal/tern) India .Fillex , - " UK .' Ullst,. Shetlcilld Norll'ay ' GrOllml FWXO USA :-. Grey talc, Juhnsull Vt~ Silica, SiO, Ferric oxide. Fc,O~ Alumina, AI,O" Lime, CaO '. Magnesia, MgO Loss on ign i t ion 57,52 . .. 0.83 3.08 0.53 31. 60 6.48 60.52 1.03 1.27 '.' 0.53 JI.75 5.51 59.40 0.18 0.68 0.66 31.40 '7.10 61.54 0.76 I. 74 1.81 30:09 3.65 62.2 0.30 0,30 0.10 . 32.20 4.90 34.l! 1 , 6.2 1.3 ,0.4 34.5 '. 23.6 39.8 6.7 0.6 0.6 33: I 19.7 42,73 4.93 1.17 ,0.10 33.16 . 17.69 Philipp Brothers C.m.b.H Berliner Allee 41 4 Dusseldorf, 'vVest Germany Tele,<: 858.-7943 Aprii, 1975 Industrial Minerals OIVI$!ON OF ENGELHARD UINEFMLS & CHE~ICALS conpORA nON 299 Pari< Avenue, New York New York 10017 (212) PL 2-4000 Cable: PHIBRO Tele:! (RCA) 223031 .> Theintcrk'i of MilC's . sterilisation plant ir: :he UK showing the whE:re the t.;::c is c,;h"a".,-2nO::ie''> wrth ethyl'en!,; oxide under pressure to remove any bacteria. techniques design,ed','~t6' :l!pgrade the poor, quitlity" . price of the' taic"":"'a ,consraeration that is not s112~ed b:,: , material. Originally,.selective mining and hand-sorting 'many minerals. Cosmeti'6grade talc from ltaly r~qui::i.'!s_ were the only' upgrading methods llsed, but later on very little additionalbcl1eficiation' and therefore com- processing~y crushing;. grinding, magnetic separation, mands an extreme'ly,high pi'ice"":"'curreritly the ClF (mail: and air~classiilcation was introduced, The application of tlotationmethods. to talc fil'St 'began. In the' USA European port) .price. is about 90~1l0 per metric ton, although, very hi;h quality talc sold. in 1kg: lOG fetc}, about a decade' ago,andhas had con~inued success ever since, In Europe, Suomen 'Talkki Oy of Fitlland evenhiglier. prices.. The French fine ground m'ateriaL not as. pure as the.ltali~m cosmeti::-grade, has a ClF process their tak/magnesite rrlaterial in a three-stage price range of. 40"90. per metric ton. The Chines.: flotation system which increases' the. percentage of talc material, .sold at the 'annual Canton Fair, is distributed from 56'X. to 93 ';{,', and alsorecovei's the nickel values .by ,appointed agents, The current .p~ice is abo;,!;: 60- .'. . : 'as a profitable co-product. .. '. . ' . . .. 70 per metric ton. 'A.llOllter. major source ofralr;. is , An added modern ,sophistication is the. !llicrohising Norw,iy a!)d, .depcncl;ng> upon the pui-lty and whether 0;:' of talc\~hi'ch. effectively gives the talc: a largel" surf<lce .' not thc material is: miccortised, the 'price varies [roin 3(1 area and. therefore.:iillproves certain iHop.ertie'sstl(;h as per ton (ex~st9rel .forgrollnd rmiterial to 47-70 pCt opacity, ejispersibility, and .absorp tion .. Micronising is , ton '- (.ex.-store.) for: . thc',m "' .' i ' ci''O. n i s eu Ii-late.riaL . <J' vcry specialised field; arid the details Of the process are jealously guarded: ,by' t~'le compitnies'iiwolved: !n JPa t~e'1"nOfCQl1115UmiM'd0i11 ", \ the UK several millers iI1c!uding 1-101't:011' Milling Co,, Ltd" Colill, Steiuarl Min(!ral,~',Ltcl:; EllgLi:1/1 ,Chjna Clays . !\'lanycharacteric;~!:c:s',lf talc arcdlii;lic:atedby'a ;:;uH1be:-. Ltd" Microfine lVizne/'ats & Che,inicals 'J;'td" anc!lrwe'[ . ofo'ther' refativdy cheap minerals-including whkb' are Minerals &" Chemicals Ltel:, 'rnicronise talc (see 1M Sept. 74). The feed material'is ~1I' :imported tal~except for some Shetlimd matei-i~l.-oilled ,by ECC. ,Micron,isirig feldspar" asbestos".' kaoUin, fuller's 'carth, ane!. b2'YcC.s-and so if talc is 'to', be tl!K.c1 .in preference. .the;;~ :7lUSI a" ','be low cost<sourcc zn;"i.lable which can com:::c!<' facilities are .cuiTently being: installed at 'S~lome0 Tiilkki Oy's plant.in Finland", aTid:-Not:~fe~iah ~ralC"mic:i'onise; for. ownimported hie re-eXr.iOrt, a5 ~ve',-I' a:~thei.r prQclllct. .,Talc to' ,be used in' the cosme:tic'andpharmaceutlca!;' ecoo()micaHy' with. any,w-Qultt-be. substitnte, The oa.tci,, o.f consll!np~iQn rn, -.;at:i6tl8 industries is eli rrerer:'" fwIT. 'country- tocolintry:tt:1ct' from ('o'ntinent 'to c,:-"ri:1<:n: (see. acconip';lnyt~ tahlep, Recently, synthetic 11:,~;'iera}:;' on,industries' lllldei:goesh 'flnal. dC<lJlir)g . .pi'oc~s~Whcrii I;js' , sted lised to remoVe; O<lcteria:anci contalninati Deta,i 1,5'-' ha\ie alSosubstit'uted [o.rr- tal-, I)articuJariy in the ~;?mi.::. .. '~n(lfil!ei indlistl;re:s;",. '.. . .' ,..... '., .. ' of the procedlire are 'rarer but th~',ti.;;1cJ;a'1 scheme is that cthylene oxide gas (or'.a similai substance} is' purnpcd athrollghi ::batch "cif: talc' for';a''pi:c~det-errriilled. tiin~~, AlvlC has 'sterilisation'planf iri :t!-i<;!' north oj" England; . The most impo'rtant tafc-l'onsqming industr-;::::.~ are paper. ,"(Jaiht, :cerarrii'cs, cosmetics. rdr<tcto~ies. ~i'l.:;",('(j 'cides,--and: -rubber.' The function. 'tiftalc 'in rhi::p"-~,,,: industry 'is to'in,c-rease the briglttnessarid 9pzd:;y o and the three major cosmetic comp~riies working.in the: the fmishecl producF, to control the' pitch gIO["lk5 i::, ' "UK, BootsPurc Drug Cb" Ltd,:, ,Cussoni;, Sons '.& . Co, trie ,.mix. arid also to increase .the reten tton . of . th'2 Ltd" arid Johnsoll.& Johnson Ltd" all sterilise their tillers, The' grade of the talc needs .to be ," hig....-;: sine:: own talc'supplies, . ., Prices Like' other cOl1'lmodi ties 'recen tly. the price of. talc has risen at stich "a .-r~tethiltit is: difficuit to keep tip to date, and for~casting' future price movcm.ents is a thank c 'of of''less task,' 'The talc. price is parti\:ulariyel usive becau?c the llliri1I;ier:' quiliitics;'graclcs, and 'stages ;of' pro~ . ~essing. and an addi.tional complIcation is . that the ,country of, ori.~iniMltientcs' the: utilis.a~ion and so the ., Brcakdoll'!l ill.tlic illllu,trial.lIsc or' talc. [~I.;H ... . 'UK. )V, Ellrope USA C(1I:a:b , Ccrallli<.:s , , ....' 3 2 . ' . 35 1J Pain! . 30* . 30" . 18 i? Paper R'oofing . Rubber .1 '", . ~.3 tt 17 6 20 10 . 4 iO I.'"-' ::- ,Toi.le{ pn.:p, fS 15 t.! Refractories .", Con:;t;'l!<.:ti~)nl1la!d'ials " ... ' <I Fertilizer;;' . .'4 5 2' "incllldillg- pfcl.~/ic.i 'fAJ! figures (II'I' Ji,/' 19'/0 C,"'f'i'pi (IS:-f "'101./: is'191?' . . 28 'industrial Minerals JNJNL61,;,. .' the prot:ess requires chemical inertness, softness, free- dom from grit, a good ink at:ceptance, high brightness, and adequate clispersibility in water. Competitors e include china clay, gypsum, barytes, and whiting. The use of talc in thcpOlint industry is most notable in ,the field of exterior paints where its properties of durability, good vis(;osity, and uniform weatherin~ arc required. In, addition it does not discolour and it reduces pigment' settlement, thereby reducing the arnOl!nt of titanium dioxide required. Talc of the quality to be used in the paint industry needs to be completely free from coloured, material and 98.5 % lninus 325 mesh in order to give the paint a smooth finish. The main competitors are pyrophyllite, whiting, china clay, gypsum, and barytes, although added' com- petition comes from the use of synthetic pigments and metals, ceramics, asbestos-cement; ,and gypsum facing materials which do not require painting. Poor-quality talc is also used as a filler and surface-coating for, roofing paper and shingles since it provides a fireproof, weather-resistant, non-sticky product (this is the 'main ., r use' of talc in the UK).. The demand for' paint and roofing materials is closely linked with the 'level of f building activity 'which in tum depends upon the state of the economy, and so' demand tends to . fluctuate considerably. Talc is used in the manufacture of various' ceramics and rcfnlctories in direct competition with wollastonite; kyanite, alumina; ancl clays.. The final products range from vcry high quali ty electronic steatite components to floor or wall tiles and pottery. Refractory applications are restricted almost entirely to pyrophyllite. In Japan, the world's largest pyrophylliteproduccr, about 50';.; of . ' the total prodution is used in refractories. The usc of . talc as a tiller in the rubber industry is on the increase : since apart from adding bulk it ~ives added electrical insulation and prevents sticking. Talc provides tran$- lucency at a low cost in the plastics industry, particu~' lady for vinyl floor tiles, polyesters, epoxies, and poly- propylene. . In the textiles industry fmely ground talc is used for hleaching and packing; the material nct:ds to. be of good quality and of high whi teness. Talc is used as a carrier for insecticides, where requirementi; are chemical inertness, with respec(,to' toxicants, a satisfactory bulk density, and a low abrasive level. .. Talc is used in the 'cosmetics industry for anumbcl; of preparations including make-up creams, coloured make-up, dermopediatric preparations, and of. course talcum powder. .The chemical and physical specifica- tions of cosmetic-grade talc are striCtly controlled; for example, allowable limits in the USA are a maximum of 0.01'7-'> foreign substances solu bIc in acids, no trace iron, and a maximum ofa 5'}~ loss through calcining.- More specifically, the' inclusion of minerals such as , dolomi te, calcium, silicates, tremolitc, serpentine, chry- sotile, anthophyllite. etc., in a particular talc, precludes its use in cosmetics Ibecause of their 'micro-abrasive action Oll the skin and the resulting los~ of fluidity. Also, the talc must be'neutral' when in contact with,' water so as not to affect' the acidity of the skin, which', ideally should have a pH of between 5 and ,5~5. Particle size is also strictly. controlled, ,vith recommended stan-, dards of 100'10 minus'lOO mesh' and 980/., minus 200 mesh. I~ general, cosmetic' talc' must have good absorbing powers on the skin'., a good water repelling action, good fluidity, a'nd good adherence to the skin in very fme layers:' .'" . J\pri I, 1975 incJust'rial Minerals .. - ~ ., ;. "., .i .~, . lHIealth It1la%ar~s-" .nnhaialtion, ingestnon, tC01mi.ta~t . Various health hazards. have been spotlighted recently by the public questioning the safety of chemicals. medications, treatments, ctc.. and the lasting health effects .of certain working envimnments. Many such questions have been asked in the cosmetics industry, induding. the risks involved when USing talc on the skin. As outli~ell briefly above,. both physical and chemical standards have to be rigidly enforced in an attempt to eliminate any h~lrmf111 effects if certain elements and minerals are present (see above and tables). It has been kno\vn for. some time that inhaling talc over a prolonged period . causes . 'talcosis', a lung complaint which. like silicosis and asbestosis, is in the pneuma-' coniosis fainily of diseases. Allegations that talc is a. carcenogene have yet tQ be proved, since the causes of cancer in general arc far from dear. Current thinking, however, rnaintains that the ham-ifuI effects of talcitself are limited; and that the real danger :" lies with its intimate association with :asbestos ('asbestos' in the sense of a geI}~ral tenn. covering a number of complex, fibrous .. magn~siuni silicatesL .. The.added danger is.that asbestos, having rotlghly the same, chemical formula as talc; can:only he distinguished from talc by complex anaJytical r11ethods such as the. scanning electron micro- scope, an.p so often escapes d~tection. There seems little chariceof harnlful effects caused by talc co~tacting th.eskin:.itself. since most cosmetic tales are' sterilised (see page 28) to remove any harmful bacteria.. Similarly danger from ingestion is rare since this cail usually be avoided.. . ,0. .r.~s Although interhational. trade III the industrial ;;;i::.::ra[s:" .ll~~i]1~j fields is becoming can'j<.:d out in large inc:-c:asingiy c tonnages and otmhemmo.na,t it eri a is l '.Js,~,Itiy i~ ,;a,ns- . ....; .~\'.I!~ .,. ported in bulk. In the case of talc,howe'::.r. ;::ertain j grades command vcry high prices-parl.icu!3.rl.~; ;'hose.:~ that r~quire .little additional" beneflci.ation~-a;\C so can .~ H'. be shipped In small lots. fbe major ducers-Austria, France, Italy, Norll'ay, Europ"';!rl anel Finl pro and- - .':~i!~.~ . all export a large percentage of their output, partkularly 1; ~ to their European neighbours.. The UK's 1974 i;nports i~ UK talc imports (melric lOllS) Belg-Luxcmbourg China France . W: Germany India !tilly Netherlands Norviay . 1970 2,409 9,649 13.971 564 . 3;638 8.341 9-+4 16,403 . .1971 2,408 9,647 12.960 580 : 1.9J I 7,753 640 [8,725 .1972 .. 1973 2,415 . 11,332 . 11,056 988 1,499 7."137 1,231 17,973 2,567 11.570 14,15l 5S5 2,51 i .16,501 1974 2,679 10,052 . U,829 247 3,884 _ . 3.050 508 ;';,231 'ttr(Jlf. *;1'-1t~:1 '~,i{l ;[?~f~. IJ->j,; !'i :I~I.I::;, Sweden USA Total . '. 1;027 1,281 57,'lG3 56,362 Olllv flzelllajor sources are. S/;Ol~ll . ". '. I,.' '. 46 1,000 55,595 1.079 3.337 1,89:; .;itf"63,283 fti'!.., ..'I~t . ofof talc which amounted to 51,801 tons, came h'c!,,! a great ~ariety sourc;es," the major ones being No".v-ay (14,231 tons), France (1.1;829 tons), China 00.052 cons), tt ~~. ;t;:.and Italy .(3,050 tons) (see table). The. l~vel of Chinese exports is interesting; in. 197) Japan imported 72.163 . tons of steatite and 101;070 tons"'of talc from China "~il't~. 1:~' '. Vl~.L,~:' !;:i~ L,1.~. '.,' ;., :'. " j ,~ .:, ,. ." ., , .I~ ......$ EP-ib LITE:Tlie '.J' ilUl~lb~r ~" 6n"8.. ..~. ~ . .- " ~~rJd produgerof .. ' :", .:.1." " 'I' ,... 'Also ;nanufacll;re~ i;,.<its ToledQ'plant ,. ,'.. "; ....... ' .. .~ ' . ..' Llif;:R';S rt'.J:.\.,N. ....lLUt.':. . "' '\ , ..... a: ..- ' . C"~" A.:i,_D. .n-~ . " ",.; .~. :' .-: Lf.. O!~bB~'~~~..," t.l .".J'C.G"~'i~"j~l.~..T?;~S. .. - '. * Floor ~absorbe~ts ior .industrY . .;:.' "r" .* Cat and pet Iitter ',' *' "Ca(.riers 'for .i~secticid~s: .pestic,rdes,', ,cat'alyzers, etc. *'Refining a'~d rege~eration of all kinds of oil' ' " Percolation .* And a large number of et ceteras ...,X.Il- .. 'I~\ .. ;It.t! '.,'\i:f.. :~ l ,11. . ii, '.~ .'<}, t .~ ":I;. I" ,~ I t I .." .. .Avvurded the Export Leader Trophy in 1973 'as 'biggest mineral exporting cOlhpa<1Y In possessiorJ.of.the:. Spani"sh :'Cal:ta 'de Expo"rttJdor" .first cl,,,",s "- ' , ' , 30 JNJNL61_000009759 (roi'nparcd with 57.771. tons and 74,687 tons respec. lively in 1972) and 'Nest Germany imported 7,072 tons in the same year (5,57 t tons the year before). These figures alone, however", seem to greatly exceed the I SJ)M estimate of 150',000 tpa for Chinese t:;1c procr.ion for each of the last five years. The Chinese inc-ntis are distributed by the Chil1a National Metals & lHillerais //I1[1ort & Export Corporation thl~ough appointed agents. . . Although Belgium itself is not- a producer of tale,' it imports around 30.000 tpa, half of which is eXported after processing. Cyprus Industrial Minerals of tile USA has set up a subsidiary company in Belgium which imports .talc from the USA and also handles Three Springs Talc Co.'s material. Belgium is also used by other European producers to distribute and/or process material, for example, Austria, France, and Norway.' The high quality of the Italian mineral means that even the USA, .a major' producer and exporter of talc, Italian talc exports . (Illetric lOllS) llelg.-LuxembOllrg Fmnce W. Germany USA UK Vcnewala Total 1969 1970 4,810 4,980 16,293 13,144 4,636 13,206 8,586 6,786 1,438 2,170 48,630 . 54,308 1971 14,858 6,224 8,351 2,075 48,074 Jan.Jlllle 1972 1973 7,548 . 4,900 18,014. 16,583 15,169 9,785 59,006 32,231 imports large tonnages of Italian material, as does the UK. West Germany, and even France (see table). On the other hand, Australia's main customers are Japan .~tralian talc'exports (metric' tOilS) Japan Netherlands New Zeahnd UK Others Total . 1969 9,818 21,885 1,451 91 350 33,595 .1970 .1971 1972 1973* 1.6.185 20,426 14,953 16~003 .12,584 9,889 .14,992 11,165 . 1,542 . 1,713 90 146 118 2,i07 1,495 30,547 32,146 32,052 .' 28,663 "10 Seplember ollll' and the Netherlands who shared even(y about :90-% of Australia's 1972 talc exports which amounted 'to 32,052 . tons.. New Zealand is the only other customer.'of note (see above). West Germany currently impo'rts over \Vest German talc imports (metric tOilS) 1970 Nalliral {(,Ie, cl'llde or split India 659 China 3,792 . Australia 9,175 Total 15,899 197.1 1,077 1,564 6,436 9,422 1972 680 1,302 2,772 4,949 . Jan.-Oct. 1973. 1974 '. 433 846 5,036 6,671 459 2,580 3,874 8,109 . Other laic Australia France Hcig.-Luxcmbourg .Italy & ., [way Austria' USA India China Total 11,233 .12,299 879 2.057 13,644 .15,425 1,049 758 9,071 10,688 35,466 36.003 .1,954 991 629 436 7,469 5,050 81,709 t;4.047 2,596 16,207 17,870 16,769 3,310 3,818. 4,704 .17.144 18,303 15,638 376 403 '11,447 13,064 : 8,465 32,169 33,454 29,563 163 174 494 . 4,688 6,226 5,384 85,445 . 95,027 of100,000 tpa of talc, a third vihich comes from neighhouring Austria (33.454 tons in i973), and much of the rest from Italy (18,303 tons), France (17,870 tons), .Norway (l3,064 tons), and China (6,226 tons). (see table). Other major. exporters are North and South Korea, and India. '/" World talc production over the last quarter cen tury . has shown a very regular growth, doul.:Jling froin 1.2m. , tons in 1950 to 2.4m. tons in 1960,.anddoubling again. over the next decade to reach 4.9m. tons in 1970. Growth Since 1970 has been more moderate, rising to only 5.16m. tons by 1973, which mdicates. a levelling- off of production .. following twenty' years o'f rapid ex- pansion. It is generally considered that demand will continue to climb, but that the rate depends upon a number of factors.' A majoi' in't1uence is, the ability of tale' to compete successfully with many would~be substitutes, since it is one of more than a dozen minerals' tha t, depending upon economics, can be u,sed by. the filler/extender consuming' industries.. In addition, the actual tonnage used depends upon the levei of activity. in the respective industries; for exa'mple, its utilisation in the ceramics industry depends upon' the rate of production of low-cost ceramics, and the tonnage of talc consumed as a white fil1er-'-currently. a booming market due to the' high price of prime pigments, etc. depends upon the level of production of plastics, paints. and roofing materials which in turn depends ~pon the activity in the construction industry-a well-kno\vn barometei' of the prevailing economic climate. The success of pyrophyllite in making inroads into the refractory industry' has been limited, although in Japan .and the western USA; where pyrophyllite is relatively plentiful, the success is quite marked (in fact civer half of Japan's pyrophyllite prodliction is used.in refrac- tories). Tale has .met with.great success .in :,thepaper industry and this seems to be a major .field for expan~ sion in. the future.1 A furth'~i barrier to'talc expanding its markets could be the current controversy' oyer the dangers of talc from the point of view of health. The working environment when talc is'mined, processed and manufactured into various products now has to be tightly controlled which will call for capital investmen;t which in turn will . be" increase the . cost of production. However,' a factor that may .counteract this disadvantage may the high price some tales can command, particularly the micron- ised grades, so that the extra. production costs .could be absorbed by the overall price. The. health hazard .problem has far from been resorved although many of the accusations ar a clearer picture e' said of the to,sibtueatuion~f'o'u~inidTei,d~rannerdgeeminotidvue~' \' course. '. ".!'j:" Reserves seem to be adequate for many ye~rs to co~e,: even if the market grows appreciably--in fact with the. introduction of ne\"; beneficiatio~' techniques many pre- viously 'non-economical d<!posits can' ,now be mined . successfully; The. world's two largest producers-the' USA (with reserves estimated' at IS,Om.tons) and Japan (60m. tons)-hold well over half of the world'S 360m.' 'tons of reserves. The overall picture for the future of talc is unclear, although its use's in sllch a wiele variety of industries give; it the advantage' of flexi- 'bility. .. ., April. 1975 Industrial Miner~ls . 31 JI'l,lN.