Magnesita

Location

Magnesita is the most important Brazilian producer of quality talc and it has the largest reserves of this mineral, higher than 12 million tons.

Talc production is concentrated in the municipal district of Brumado, Southwest of Bahia, 660 km from Salvador. The main talc and magnesite deposits are located in the Serra das Éguas, region with length of approximately 18 km, 10 km wide, and a total area of 142 km2.

The connection with the industrial areas of the country or with the ports of Salvador, where the company has its marine terminal, in Aratu, can be made through highways totally asphalted or by railroad.

Product Applications

To achieve maximum customer satisfaction, Magnesita guarantees the quality of the products and the safety of its supply. Furthermore, it makes availability to the market the entire infrastructure of its Research and Development Center, supplying a range of technical support services, joint development of new products, production and application technology and processes.

Plastics Industry

The Magnesita Talmag talc line dedicated to the plastics market is comprised of products of high chemical purity, low iron content, high lamellarity and high whiteness. These physical characteristics, allied to the most modern grinding / micronization processes, guarantee the best cost-benefit relationship in the market.

Magnesita has in its portfolio a wide variety of products produced to satisfy the most rigid requirements in the plastics segment:

• Products grinded in meshes 200 and 325 (75 and 45 microns, respectively);
• Micronized Talc (top size from 15 to 30 microns);
• Ultra-micronized Talc (top size of 5, 7 and 10 microns) in powdered or compacted versions (pelletized).

Cosmetics and Pharmacy Industry

The talc extracted in the mines located in Serra das Éguas (BA) [Bahia state] is highly pure, chemically speaking, it has low iron content and is free from asbestos.

The Magnesita laboratory and quality control infrastructure permits to guarantee the satisfaction of all requirements of the American pharmacopeia USP 32, including microbiologic analyses.

The pearly shine and the softness, hardness equal to 1, the lowest in the Mohs mineral scale, the excellent lubrication power, the greasiness to the touch, the low abrasiveness and the high oil absorption power are characteristics that differentiate the Talmag talc from other competitors in the market and allow its use in diverse applications such as powders-compacts and body powders (baby and adult lines), creams, soaps and bath soaps, and also other varied applications in the pharmaceutical manipulation line.

Food Industry

- - Olive oil Production

In the production of olive oil, the Talmag talc acts as natural processing aid, increasing the productivity of the virgin olive oil and improving plant productivity. Talmag talc use does not affect the chemical and organoleptic characteristics virgin olive oil.

- Food

The Talmag talc line is widely used as external lubricant (anti-stick) in chewing gums and candies and also in the composition of the gum base production for acid fruit flavors.

Another application of the Talmag talc is in the treatment of rice, beans and chocolate sweets.

Agribusiness Industry

- Seed Covering

- Unbeatable cost-benefit relationship in comparison with the product traditionally used (graphite);
- It improves seed flow rate and the level control in the planters;
- The use of Talmag talc improves the seed distribution uniformity, providing more coherency to the application and reducing losses;
- Talmag talc is an excellent vehicle for several types of seed additives, such as fungicides, herbicides and nitrogen fixation bacteria and is also chemically inert, prolonging the shelf life of the seeds;
- Talc provides for a dry lubrication technology;
- It doesn’t cause damage to the soil or to plantations (inert mineral);
- Talc is a natural and environmentally correct lubricant. No artificial substance is added to the product.

- Animal feeding

- It improves the flow of sticky ingredient such as cotton seed or molasses;
- Besides being anti-caking (anti-agglomerating), talc accelerates drying and packing times and also increases the product shelf life.

Chemical Products for Agriculture

Talc is a good inert vehicle for insecticides, fungicides and herbicides, allowing for more uniform distribution, reduction in the active ingredient and increase of shelf life).

Talc in Fertilizers

Excellent anti-caking agent for ammonia and granulated fertilizers, talc facilitates handling and drying, so accelerating the packaging process.

Ceramic industry

Acting as a flow agent, the Talmag line talc reduce the fusion temperature in glazed items (frits), increasing its glazing and reducing the temperatures of process and burning in ceramic production, thereby reducing costs.

Adequate granulometry and low iron content, besides hydrophobia and whiteness are key factors guaranteeing an excellent performance in applications.

Paper and Cellulose Industry

Used in controlling pitch and stickies, Talmag line talc impedes the gathering of these organic impurities in the production of cellulose and paper, recycled fibers and mechanical / thermo-mechanical paste.

Magnesita has a highly qualified and experienced technical team, and equipment for talc dispersion especially developed for its application and, mainly, talc with morphology and granulometry adequate to customers’ needs.