Brazil is one of the world’s largest kaolin producers with an estimated production of about 2.5m.-2.8m. tpa. (about 10% of world production), the USA being the major producer with an annual estimated production of about 6.750m. tonnes in 2008 (USGS).
The most commercially important deposits in Brazil are of sedimentary kaolin in the Amazon Basin, located in the north of the country. These deposits have become an important source of high purity grades of kaolin for coating paper, with their natural high brightness, fine particle-size distribution, good rheology and low abrasion (absence of abrasive minerals such as quartz < 5µm). That is why Brazilian kaolin is mainly used in paper applications, even though limited volumes are used in other industries.
Producers
The majority of kaolin in Brazil is produced by two major international players. Imerys SA exploits kaolin at its Rio Capim...