ZEOLITES

Zeolite production in the United States has been flat since 2018, staying around 86 to 87 kt (estimated), according to U.S. Geological Survey statistics. New Mexico was the leading producer of natural zeolites in 2022, followed by California, Idaho, Texas, Oregon and Arizona. The top three companies accounted for about 75 percent of U.S. production. Domestic uses for natural zeolites were (in decreasing order by tonnage): animal feed, odor control, unclassified other (such as soil amendment, traction control and synthetic turf), water purification/treatment, pet litter, wastewater cleanup, fungicide or pesticide carrier, oil and grease absorbents, gas absorbent (and air filtration, fertilizer carriers), desiccants and aquaculture. The three leading uses accounted for more than 70 percent of the domestic natural zeolite sales tonnage. Synthetic-turf applications and green roofs as well as denitrification applications have grown as a market replacing some of the animal feed applications. The United States exports high-added-value processed and activated chabazite products for gas adsorption and ion exchange applications, primarily chabazite from the Bowie deposit in Arizona. With the current pricing for natural gas dropping 75 percent, even given the needs in Europe, the demand for natural zeolite sorbents is difficult to predict. But there is a large installed base of plants using chabazite that does need to be replaced on a regular basis. It is also unclear how the war in Ukraine will impact this market. Most likely, demand for zeolite may increase as production increases on existing wells that can be treated. Exports for NSF-certified water filtration products into Europe, Mexico, Central America and South America may increase as well, though again the strength of the dollar may have an impact on this export market, as will increased prices that are being passed through by producers as the cost inputs of labor, fuel and power have increased significantly. There is also a growing market for specialty feed products, but these markets seem to be met by deposits in Europe, Mexico and South America. More low-cost zeolite deposits are being developed in Mexico. Whether they can economically travel to U.S. markets is questionable, and the quality assurance/ quality control controls on these deposits are at this time not well established. As with any export market, only higher-value or bulk commodity products are shippable any significant distance. Prices Prices are based on the percentage of zeolite and accessory minerals in the product, chemical and physical properties, and particle size. The price of zeolite products is reported fob mine in bulk at $110- 950/t in 2022. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a flattening of sales, prices were weak at the beginning of 2020, but higher transportation, energy and labor costs changed the market in 2021 and 2022. Price inflation in some products increased by 20 percent or more just to absorb the added costs, with annual added price increases of 5-10 percent being common for many industrial mineral products. Generally, granular zeolite products carry a premium, particularly for water treatment products that must carry an NSF certification. Products for pool filtration are significantly higher than freeon- board (fob) mine costs due to distribution, packaging, marketing and certification expenses. Prices are generally negotiated; consequently, there are no published price quotes, though Bear River reports its average sales price per ton in the annual report of its parent company, U.S. Antimony. In 2022, Bear River’s average sales price for clinoptilolite products was reported as $243/t, up about 11 percent from $219/mt in 2020. Table 1 U.S. zeolite production, 2018-2022. Uses and applications Worldwide, most natural zeolite mineral products are used in agricultural soil amendments, odor control, filtration applications, and pozzolans that do not require ultra-high-purity natural or synthetic zeolites. In general, most commercial deposits consist of a minimum 70 to 80 percent zeolite minerals. The exception is an Italian chabazite that at about 50 percent pure, is successfully used in a number of markets in compact septic systems at a rate of about 4 kt annually, as well as other specialty applications. Chabazite from the Bowie, AZ deposit is high purity and is processed into beads and extrudates and used in specialty sorption applications. The properties of chabazite from this deposit, primarily resistance to harsh chemical environments, and a cyclical adsorption rate that exceeds those of the competitive synthetic zeolite products, create a performance advantage. The largest application for chabazite is in pressure swing adsorption (PSA) plants that treat natural gas from wells and landfills. This market has and will continue to expand over the long term as worldwide production of natural gas increases. Health and safety The natural zeolite, erionite, has been a major health concern. None of the currently operating zeolite producers has fibrous erionite as a component in their zeolite products. Continued work on zeolite mineralogy has also shown that many deposits previously reported as having erionite actually contained the zeolite mineral offretite, or the so-called erionite did not have the chemistry and mineralogy of the current standard for the mineral erionite. Trends and outlook One of the trends in the zeolite industry is the development of a series of smaller marketing and distribution companies that do not have their own operations, such as Zeo Inc., in the United States. Natural zeolite production should continue to grow at a rate between 3 and 4 percent per year as the world recovers from the effects of the pandemic.

ZEOLITES

Authored by:
Daniel T. Eyde

To view the past issues of the UCA magazine you must be a member of SME/UCA.

Gold retains key reserve status despite surging bond yields, central bankers say

China demands copper supply commitments for Anglo Teck merger approval, sources say

Leaders in mining excellence honored by NMA, federal agencies

Gold retains key reserve status despite surging bond yields, central bankers say

China demands copper supply commitments for Anglo Teck merger approval, sources say

Leaders in mining excellence honored by NMA, federal agencies

To view the past issues of the UCA magazine you must be a member of SME/UCA.

WOLLASTONITE

ZIRCONIUM

Related Articles

How GeologicAI uses high-resolution data to reduce uncertainty in mining

AI-ready digital twin for mineral processing plants: Maximizing copper production with dynamic water management

Roundtable discussion on mine finance

Bubbles and particles for fun and profit

Gold retains key reserve status despite surging bond yields, central bankers say

China demands copper supply commitments for Anglo Teck merger approval, sources say

Leaders in mining excellence honored by NMA, federal agencies

Gold retains key reserve status despite surging bond yields, central bankers say

China demands copper supply commitments for Anglo Teck merger approval, sources say

Leaders in mining excellence honored by NMA, federal agencies

Use Single Sign On