10 Industrial Minerals Everyone Has in Their Pocket
Industrial minerals are anything but glamorous. At first mention, most folks conjure up images of sand, limestone, or perhaps clay for bricks. They are the rawest of raw materials and, as such, they play critically important but invisible roles in the infrastructure and technologies that make the 21st Century world go round.
So what are the 10 industrial minerals everyone has in their pocket these days? We’ll give you a hint: it’s not sand and gravel, and most of us don’t leave home without it.
- fluorspar
- bauxite
- magnesia
- talc
- alumina trihydrate
- alumina-silica
- lithium
- graphite
- silicon carbide
- rare earth minerals
We’re talking here about the industrial minerals which go into the manufacturing of a state-of-the-art smartphone of course. In fact, according to the very cool PowerPoint presentation found at FieldexExploration.com, the industrial minerals find their places on the bill of materials for the following smart device components.
Fluorspar, and refractory minerals such as bauxite and magnesia, are used in the aluminum casing. That durable plastic back cover uses the flame retardant minerals talc and alumina trihydrate. Silicon carbide produces the all-important fused silicon crucibles for the silicon chip that makes a smartphone smart. Reliable, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries require lithium and graphite. Alumina-silica and fused alumina are the glass minerals for the polished high-tech screen. Rare earth minerals are used for speakers and those vivid screen colors.
In 2018 there are 2.5 billion smartphones in the world and the year-over-year trend is projected to increase to 2.87 billion by 2020, according to statista.com. That’s a very impressive market for industrial mineral demand by itself and bear in mind that the smartphone is just one of many similarly manufactured smart devices in the expanding Internet of Things (IoT) era.
And as we’ll see, the world isn’t simply demanding more industrial minerals for smartphones and devices to keep up with advances and trends in 21st Century manufacturing and technology.
Talc and Plastics in the 2018-2023 Global Market
Talc enhances the properties of plastics when used as a filler material. The plastics industry is one of the key drivers and is the largest end user in the talc market. Talc improves elasticity, scratch resistance, impact resistance, and color consistency in plastic components.
Automotive manufacturers are turning to lightweight plastic parts to improve fuel efficiency as well as durability. Talc is used for stabilizing fenders and the development of highly scratch-resistant dashboards.
Household appliances such as dishwashers, washing machines, and dryers are using thermoplastic polymers. Talc has roles in the manufacturing of polyethylene films as an anti-blocking agent, wood-plastic composites for green building materials, and plastic recycling.
The demand for talc is expected to reach a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 4.6%, according to this Research and Markets report, with the talc market growing from $2.68 billion in 2018 to $3.35 billion by 2023.
Jobs For Industrial Mineral Mining Professionals at Resource Erectors
At Resource Erectors we specialize in connecting the best mining companies with the best mining professionals with experience in the wide range of industrial minerals including:
- dolomitic limestone
- clays
- silica sand
- diatomite
- kaolin
- bentonite
- feldspar
- barite
- gypsum
- talc
- potash
- salt
If you’re a professional in the industrial mineral mining field, we have jobs available when you’re ready to make a career move. We specialize in placing professionals from the CEO and every other management level in every discipline including Lean Sigma Six, transport and logistics, mine engineering, process engineering, mine operations, geology and geosciences and more.
If you’re a mining company looking to build a dream team of highly qualified talented professionals we have the recruiting experience and connections at Resource Erectors to help you achieve that goal so don’t hesitate to contact us.
