China challenges U.S. wollastonite output

The balance of wollastonite supply is shifting as China increases output and new producers emerge, says a new report from Roskill Information Services. When China’s largest wollastonite deposit, recently discovered in Yunnan province, enters production later this year, China will rival the U.S. as the world’s largest producer of the industrial mineral.

Both countries will supply in the order of 100,000 tonnes per annum each, says the report, titled The Economics of Wollastonite 1990. But while China, because of a less sophisticated processing capability, produces mostly crude wollastonite in powdered form, the U.S dominates the supply of acicular wollastonite, a replacement for asbestos and a filler in plastic resins. China exports about 40,000 tonnes of the powdered version for use in the metallurgical and ceramic industries.

Current world demand for wollastonite is about 250,000 tonnes per year. Prices range from $125 to $750 per tonne, depending on the physical and chemical characteristics and the degree of secondary processing.

The plastics industry, growing at a rate of 4% per annum, has provided a healthy market for acicular wollastonite. As the naturally occurring mineral replaces more expensive man-made fillers, its market share is increasing.

According to the report, demand for wollastonite is also growing in the ceramics industry, traditionally the largest consumer of the mineral. Low gas evolution and sintering make wollastonite suitable for “fast firing” techniques that are replacing slower, less energy- efficient processes.

In Canada, Cominco (TSE) and joint venture partner Platinova Resources (TSE) have outlined about two million tonnes of wollastonite mineralization at the Mamora Twp. property in eastern Ontario. Preproduction work is planned for this year. Other Canadian companies with wollastonite interests include Sikaman Gold Resources (TSE), which is optioning off its interest in a Nevada deposit for $6.3 million.

Other international suppliers of wollastonite include Finland and India.