Roskill - Expanding The World's Knowledge of Metals and Minerals Markets
Table of Contents
- 1. Summary
- 2. Mineralogy of talc minerals
- 3. Reserves, mining, processing and specifications of talc minerals
- 4. Production of talc minerals
- 5. Review of producing countries
- 6. Consumption of talc minerals
- 7. End uses for talc minerals
- 8. International trade in talc and pyrophyllite
- 9. Prices of talc minerals
This is an abridged table of contents. Click here for the full table of contents.
Talc
Growth prospects best outside largest end-uses
By far the largest markets for talc worldwide lie in paper and ceramics, each of which accounts for some 30% of total consumption of talc minerals. However, talc faces increasing competition in both markets, as precipitated and ground calcium carbonate take increasing market share for paper fillers and the refractories industry adopts higher-performance mag-carbon and dolomite-carbon products in place of pyrophillite. The result is that the main areas of growth for talc in the next few years are likely to lie outside these two end-uses. Growth in talc consumption in plastics is forecast at over 3% py through 2006 in line with increased use of polypropylene, especially for the automotive market where lightweight and recyclability are important factors. Development of very fine compacted, sub-micron talcs will enhance the properties imparted to plastics and raise the value of talc sales to the plastics industry. Growth in talc consumption in paints is estimated at over 2%py in North America and Western Europe, and at 4-7%py in industrialising Asian and Latin American countries, as per capita consumption of paint rises. On the supply side, world production of talc fell by around 10% from 1996 to 2002, primarily due to lower output from China and the USA, which in 2002 accounted for 40% and 13% of the world total respectively. Six countries - China, the USA, India, Finland, France and Brazil - together accounted for around 80% of total world output in 2002.
The key trends, issues and developments in the market are now analysed in this major new report from Roskill. It provides a clear insight into all areas of the industry and an authoritative analysis of the prospects for the future.
- Independent, in-depth research and analysis
- Essential market intelligence for successful business planning
- Detailed survey of production in 64 countries
- Up-to-date profiles of over 45 major producing companies and their activities, including Luzenac, Mondo Minerals, Gouverneur Talc, Liaoning Haicheng, Golcha Group, Chosun Firebrick Co, Fuzhou Emei, Barretts Minerals and IMI Fabi
- Forecasts for end-use consumption and world supply and demand
Report highlights
Following the introduction of export quotas, the average value of all forms of Chinese talc exports increased from US$82/t in 1996 to US$109/t in 2001 and US$121/t in 2002. China's entry into the World Trade Organisation in late 2001 means that tariff and non-tariff trade barriers will have to be removed or reduced by 2005.
The contrasting trends in demand in different end uses are likely to be reflected in future price movements. There are concerns that Chinese exports may rise again to the 1Mtpy level attained in 1996 and 1997, exerting downward pressure on talc prices over the next few years.
By far the largest producer of talc worldwide is the Luzenac Group. Total production from group operations in Western Europe, North and Central America and Australia rose from 1.26Mt in 2000 to 1.33Mt in 2002 following the acquisition of the Three Springs mine in Australia.
The concentration of pyrophyllite production is even more marked than that of talc. South Korea and China each accounted for over 30% of world output in 2002. South Korea overtook China as the leading producer in 2001.
Talc minerals consumption is concentrated within Asian countries, where the availability of local, low-cost materials makes talc competitive with alternative minerals such as kaolin and calcium carbonate. Asia is estimated to account for over 40% of world talc consumption and for over 85% of pyrophyllite consumption.
Talc has lost market share as a paper filler to calcium carbonate in Europe, and the widely-available kaolin has always been preferred in North America. In ceramics, wall tile production is the main end use for both talc and pyrophyllite. As a result, unlike other applications for talc minerals, South America is the largest regional market.
Buy This Report Now
The Economics of Talc published 05/05/2003
191 pages, 196 tables and 27 figures.
ISBN 0 86214 864 2
Complete report price:
GBP 1800
EUR 3150
USD 3600
plus postage/packing.