The Market for Bentonite in the Europe

The Market for Bentonite in the

Europe: Supply Side Issues

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Combustion Quality of Coal and Lignite

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Introduction to Bentonite

Bentonite is the commercial name for the clay mineral montmorillonite, which is

formed by the weathering of volcanic ash

bed. Most known bentonite deposits in the

world date from the Tertiary and Mesozoic

periods and may thus be up to 230 million

years old. World resources of bentonite

are very large and thought to be practically

inexhaustible.


Guidance for Solving Environmental Challenges of Mining, Construction,

Processing and Oil and Gas Fields Projects.

The mineral possesses many useful properties, which makes it a valuable material for a number of industrial uses and applications. The most sought-after properties are its absorptive and swelling capacities; its weight increases several times when dry bentonite is mixed with water and creates a gelatinous and viscous fluid. The clay is normally extracted by surface open-pit mining and then processed by crushing and drying to reach a moisture content of approximately 15 per cent (http://www.ima-eu.org/eubaindex.htm ).

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The name bentonite was given to the clay mineral some time .Clem and Doehler (1961) report that the name bentonite was given to the clay mineral as early as 1848, while the European Bentonite Producers Association (EUBA 2008) reports the year to be 1898

in the mid-1800s when the first site was discovered near Fort Benton in Wyoming and has become internationally accepted. Today, most clays of the same basic type go by the name bentonite, although they may not possess the same swelling capacity as the Wyoming grade bentonite. The name montmorillonite, which is the main mineral in bentonite, also derives its name from a deposit, but in this case the deposit is located in Montmorillon, southern France.

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There are two main varieties of bentonite: calcium and sodium, where sodium bentonite is

the more commercially important

(http://www.bgs.ac.uk/)

According to Murray ,calcium bentonite deposits

are much more common than sodium bentonite

deposits. However, calcium bentonite can be

changed to sodium bentonite by the ion-

exchange process (http://www.bgs.ac.uk/ ).


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Mining, Oil & Gas, Steel, Aluminum, Cement Industries and Other Core

Sectors

The most notable industrial uses

for bentonite: Bonding material in the preparation of moulding

sand in the production of iron, steel and non-ferrous castings;

binding agent in the production of iron ore pellets;

civil engineering uses, such as waterproofing and sealing;

drilling mud in the oil industry the bentoniteseals the borehole walls, removes drill cuttings and lubricates the cutting head;

pet waste absorbents (cat litter).


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The US Geological Survey reports in its Minerals Yearbook 2006 that bentonite exports for both

drilling mud and foundry sand increased during

2005 due to the strong demand for foundry

products and increased drilling for oil and gas,

whilst exports of bentonite for iron ore pelletizing

increased significantly. This shows that the

booming commodity market of the recent years

has indeed affected the market for bentonite as

well.


STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT OF ALLIANCE,MERGER AND

ACQUISITIONS

WORLD BENTONITE PRODUCTION AND MAJOR

MARKETS in 2006 by Major Region (Tonnes).


Trade and Market for Minerals, Metals, Oil and Gas - Dynamics and

Determinants

North and Central America is where the largest production of bentonite occurs in the world. The region is dominated heavily by the US, which is the world's largest individual producer of bentonite, with a production of 4.6 million tonnes in 2006. In this year, the region accounted for 34 per cent of world bentonite exports. US exports were shipped mainly to Canada and Japan, although significant quantities were also sold to Saudi Arabia and the Western European market. The second largest producer in the region, Mexico, sold most of its exports to Germany and Belgium.

Europe was the world's largest importer of bentonite in 2006. The most notable importing countries in Europe were, in descending order, Germany, Netherlands, France, the UK and Sweden. The two biggest exporters in Europe were Greece and Italy, who sold most of their export bentonite in the European home market, with the bulk of their exports shipping to Germany, France and Sweden. Europe's largest individual producer of bentonite was, by far, Greece at 1.1 million tonnes bentonite produced in 2006, followed by Russia at approximately 0.5 million tonnes.


Combustion Quality of Coal and Lignite

Asia's biggest importers of bentonite were Malaysia and Japan. The most notable exporters of bentonite in Asia were India, China and Cyprus. China produced 3.2 million tonnes of bentonite in 2006, making it the world's second largest producer. Chinese exports were mainly confined to the SE Asian market, but some 50,000 tonnes were shipped to the Netherlands. India exported slightly over 90,000 tonnes to Brazil, but exports were otherwise mainly shipped to closer customers, except 44,000 tonnes that were exported to the Netherlands. Cyprus, who is located in the Mediterranean Sea, exported its bentonite to the West European market, with the bulk of its shipments going to the Netherlands and the UK.


Guidance for Solving Environmental Challenges of Mining, Construction,

Processing and Oil and Gas Fields Projects.

World Bentonite Exports in 2006 by

Major Region (Tonnes).


Land Acquisition and Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility

Management - Manual For Resource Intensive Core Industries

Major Intra-European Trade Flows of Bentonite,

2007 (Thousand Tonnes).


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BENTONITE TRADE IN EUROPE

Notable overseas suppliers of bentonite to the European market were India and the US, who together supplied approximately 9 per cent of the total European and CIS bentonite imports in 2007. The major European importers of bentonite from India in 2007 were the Netherlands (39,158 tonnes), Poland (41,119 tonnes) and Italy (53,750 tonnes). The main European importers of US bentonite were Poland (17,762 tonnes) and the UK (29,215 tonnes).

The main drivers behind the European bentonite market appear to be consumer applications (such as pet litter) and industrial uses (such as foundry sands, construction, to some extent drilling muds and, in Sweden, iron ore pelletizing), but there is simply too little information available to make any strong assertions regarding this.


Rehabilitation and Resettlement Issues of People Affected in Project Land

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Conclusions

Particular attention was devoted to the European market, and the role of the CIS countries. We noted that the market had a distinct regional character, although approximately 9 per cent of the total European and CIS bentonite imports in 2007 was supplied by India and the US. Greece is by far the biggest supplier of European bentonite imports, followed by Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and Turkey, in descending order.

The main drivers behind the European bentonite market appear to be consumer applications (such as pet litter) and industrial uses (such as foundry sands, construction, to some extent drilling mud and, in Sweden, iron ore pelletizing), but there is simply too little information available to make any strong assertions regarding this


Trade and Market for Minerals, Metals, Oil and Gas - Dynamics and

Determinants

Documents

The Market for Bentonite in the Europe