Abstract
The market for ground calcium carbonate (GCC) expanded from around 56Mt in
2004 to almost 72Mt in 2007, an average annual growth rate of nearly 9%. World
demand for GCC is forecast to continue to grow at an average annual growth
rate of 4% to 2012, to reach 87.4Mt.
Rising demand for paper pigments from the paper industry has been the main
driver behind the rapid growth in GCC consumption since the early 1980s. GCC
competes with kaolin and precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC), mainly as
filler, but increasingly in coating applications in printing and writing
paper. The market for GCC in paper coating has shown a high rate of growth
because of its brightness and good performance in high-speed paper machines,
which has helped GCC to take market share from kaolin.
The plastics industry is the second largest user of GCC, accounting for an
estimated 14.4Mtpy of consumption in 2007, compared with 10.2Mtpy in 2004. GCC
is the most commonly used filler in plastics, but other minerals such as talc
and alumina trihydrate (ATH) are used in more demanding applications. The
trend is for finer ground material as consumers use GCC less as filler to
reduce costs, but more as a process aid and functional additive. GCC is the
most commonly used filler and extender mineral in emulsion and semi-gloss
paints; finer grades have also been developed that can be used in gloss paints.
What the report gives you
- Independent, in-depth research and analysis
- Essential market intelligence for successful business planning
- Detailed survey of production and processing in over 50 countries
- Up-to-date profiles of the activities of over 120 producing and processing
companies and potential projects, including Omya, Imerys, Huber Engineered
Materials, Gaoxu Chemicals Shuogang Cailun Shenxing Chemicals and Shebekinsky
Melovoy
- Forecasts for end-use consumption and world supply and demand
- Report highlights
Global production capacity for all grades of GCC has grown to 73Mtpy compared
with less than 60Mtpy in 2004. Most of the new capacity has been built in Asia
and this region now accounts for 29% of world capacity. Ten companies control
nearly 64% of global production capacity
Production of GCC in China has grown from 5.2Mt in 2002 to 11.9Mt in 2007.
Much of this growth has been fuelled by demand for wet ground material from
the paper mills. Both Imerys and Omya have invested in WGCC in China
GCC plants have traditionally been located close to sources of marble or
limestone, but increasing demand from countries where local reserves of
suitable calcium carbonate are limited, or absent, has led to the growth in
shipments of high-brightness marble to distant plants located close to leading
end-use markets. Major flows of marble are from Malaysia to China and Japan,
Italy to Belgium and Sweden and in the coming years from Turkey to The
Netherlands.
Over the next four years, paper will remain the main market for GCC and its
market share will increase slightly. Global demand for GCC in paper is
forecast to rise by 5.5%py to 2012. The anticipated strong growth in Asian
production will be slightly offset by much lower rates of growth in Europe and
North America. The South American market for GCC has been constrained by lack
of suitable raw materials but new plants based on imported marble could lead
to increased demand in this region. Global growth in demand for GCC in
plastics and paint over the years to 2012 is expected to grow at 5%y and 4%py
respectively.
Report Statistics
327 pages, 271 tables and 60 figures.
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