UNIQUE MINERALS, ESSENTIAL TECHNOLOGIES.

Bentonite is the common name for naturally occurring clay that contains the active montmorillonite mineral.

Bentonites are typically classified as either sodium (swelling) or calcium (non-swelling) based on their interlayer exchangeable cations and ability to swell in water.

Bentonite is known as the “Mineral of 1,000 Uses.” Based on our proven ability to selectively mine for specific applications and modify the surface of the mineral to deliver performance, bentonite clay has major commercial applications in foundry green sand binders, building waterproofing, cat litter, geosynthetic clay liners for environmental uses, iron ore pelletizing, drilling muds, edible oil clarification, animal feeds, and wine/juice clarification. Specialty applications of bentonite clay include asphalt emulsions, catalysts, cosmetics, paints and pharmaceuticals.

Precipitated Calcium Carbonate—also known as purified, refined or synthetic calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonates, including PCC, are considered to be non-toxic. In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration has Affirmed calcium carbonate to be GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe). As long as the PCC meets certain purity requirements, it can be used as a direct food additive, as a pharmaceutical or as an indirect additive in paper products that come in contact with food. Similar acceptances and approvals exist around the world where PCCs are widely used in these applications. PCC is generally made from a high purity calcium carbonate rock called limestone.

Ground calcium carbonate, commonly referred to as GCC, is widely used as an industrial mineral. Three primary attributes: particle size, color and chemical purity define the quality of the GCC, and define the suitability of use for any given application.

GCC products range in size from ½” (1.7 cm) white decorative landscaping stones to fine, 2 micron, powders and are used in the whole variety of applications– building products, paints, plastics, agriculture, glass, among others. Also food grade GCCs can be used for food and chewing gum.

Leonardite was named after A. G. Leonard, first director of the North Dakota Geological Survey, in recognition of his valuable work on these deposits. Leonardite is an oxidation product of lignite coal and mined from near surface pits.

The commercial applications of leonardite are driven by the utilization of the humic acid and fulvic acid constituents. Significant market applications of leonardite are in the oil well drilling industry, agricultural applications as plant growth aid and soil conditioner, and clay dispersant in the metalcasting industry. Additional specialty applications include remediation of soil contamination and water treatment.

Magnesium hydroxide is obtained by the treatment of magnesium chloride solutions, typically seawater, with lime. Calcining at different temperatures produces magnesium oxide of different reactivity.

Magnesium oxide can be used as an aggregate and matrix in a variety of products in the steelmaking industry as well as non-ferrous product, petrochemical, cement, and power generation industries. Its primary function is to provide thermal insulation and chemical stability.

Pyrolytic graphite (PG) is a specialized, "five-nine" purity, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), carbon product grown atom-by-atom with unique thermal, electrical and chemical properties including superior EMI performance. These materials have applications where extreme temperature up to 6000°F (3300°C) and corrosive environments exist, conducting heat across its (a-b) planar surface like copper and insulating like ceramics in the (c) thickness direction. In addition, PG has been determined to be highly diamagnetic, conducive to enhanced imaging process for medical applications.

With its unique thermal and electrical characteristics, pyrolytic graphite is used by industries facing problem applications resulting from excessively high temperature, stress, corrosion, and friction, requiring a lightweight material solution.

Lime, sometimes referred to as quicklime, is a term commonly applied to a number of related materials. Pure lime is calcium oxide (CaO) formed by “burning” a form of calcium carbonate such as limestone or marble (CaCO3). Dolomite, a calcium magnesium carbonate (CaMg(CO3)2) can also be calcined to form dolomitic lime, which has different reactivity due to the presence of MgO.

Hectorite is the common name for a relatively rare, naturally occurring clay and also the name of the active mineral in the clay. Hectorite is a trioctahedral, magnesium based smectite clay. The unique properties of the hectorite active mineral are very small platelet size, an elongated platelet structure with an inherent negative charge counterbalanced by exchangeable sodium (Na+) ions, light color with low iron content and high viscosifying ability in water.

Hectorite is used in applications that require lighter color, higher viscosity, and thermal stability. Commercial applications include ceramics, cosmetics, high temperature organoclays for oil well drilling and paints/coatings.