The Economics of Bentonite, 11th edition 2008

World demand for bentonite and fuller's earth is forecast to rise by an average of 2.2%py from 20Mt in 2007 to 22.4Mt in 2012. Growth will be led by the foundry sand sector (5%py), filtering and decolourising of edible oils, industrial oils, solvents and chemicals (5%py) and iron ore pelletising (3%py).

The highest rates of growth will be found in Asia, notably China, and in South America where demand will be driven by the requirements of the iron ore pelletising and foundry sands markets. The main regional markets for bentonite are North America (7.5Mt), Asia (5.6Mt) and Europe (5Mt), although there are significant variations in the pattern of consumption within each of these regions. These variations depend partly on the types of locally occurring, and also on the degree of industrialisation. In industrialising economies, applications in the iron and steel industries are one of the main demand drivers, whereas in mature economies consumer applications, such as pet litter, predominate. Production in 2007 was concentrated in the USA (5Mt), the EU (2.8Mt) and China (an estimated 2.5Mt). Over the period 1997 to 2007, production grew in the USA, the former Soviet Union and China, but fell in the EU. US companies are the largest producers, accounting for around a third of total world output in 2007. Chinese output is estimated to have grown by over 11%py in the six years to 2007. Other important sources include Turkey, Greece, Russia and India.

In Europe and North America production of bentonite and fuller's earth is dominated by a small number of corporate groups, most of which are integrated into downstream activities. AMCOL of the USA is the world's largest producer of bentonite with a capacity of over 2Mtpy. In Europe, S&B Industrial Minerals of Greece and Sd-Chemie of Germany are the main producers, each with a capacity of more than 1Mtpy. AMCOL and Sd-Chemie are extending their global base by establishing production bases in BRIC.

At least 0.8Mtpy of additional bentonite capacity is planned to be opened by 2009 with further capacity expected to come on-stream by 2012. The global industry should be able to raise output to meet forecast growth in demand over the next five years, although supplies of sodium bentonite may become tighter in the short term.

• Independent, in-depth research and analysis
• Essential market intelligence for successful business planning
• Detailed survey of production and processing in over 70 countries
• Up-to-date profiles of the activities of over 160 producing and processing companies and their activities, including S and B Industrial Minerals, Volclay, Sud-Chemie, Amcol International, Tolsa and Geohellas
• Forecasts for end-use consumption and world supply and demand