Fording acquires Mexican wollastonite deposit

Deciding that carbonized vegetable matter is not everything, Fording Coal has bought a wollastonite property in northwestern Mexico.

Through a wholly owned Mexican subsidiary, the Calgary-based company has bought 1,150 acres of mineral rights and 1,920 acres of surface rights near Hermosillo. The ground is believed to contain a large, high-grade deposit of calcium silicate.

Fording owns NYCO Minerals which, with annual sales exceeding 80,000 tons of finished product, is the largest producer of the mineral.

Wollastonite is used in thermoplastics, adhesives, ceramics, friction materials, paints, brake linings and floor tiles, among other applications. The mineral has also been recommended as a replacement for short-fibre asbestos in Europe and the U.S., owing to its inert quality. Already, a large sample from the property has been studied and a flotation process chosen. Studies point to the possible production of wollastonite with a high aspect ratio (the ratio of the crystal’s length to width). Fording plans to evaluate the property further by removing a 1-ton bulk sample to test grade and recovery.