Industrial Functional Minerals
Ashapura's journey began in the 1960s with Bentonite, after which we have continued to add several niche minerals to our value mix. We enjoy global leadership on account of our ability to understand industrial minerals and offer customised solutions to our customers.
Ashapura is the largest producer of Bentonite in India and third largest in the world. It is also one of the worlds largest Bauxite exporters. It is our endeavor to constantly add new minerals catering to a wider section of industries and applications. Our vast and versatile resource base is capable of measuring up to even the most challenging specifications; our comprehensive range of solutions from mining, processing to logistics makes us a unique enterprise.
Standing
- 15% market share in global Bauxite exports
- Worlds 3rd largest producer of Bentonite
- India's 2nd largest producer of Kaolin
Applications
- Aluminium
- Foundry
- Cosmetics
- Metal Ore Pellatization
- Construction
- Paper
Advanced Refractory Materials
Ashapura is India's largest producer of Advanced Refractory Materials with a versatile portfolio of Castables, High Alumina Cement, Calcined Bauxite and Fused Aluminas. High-temperature Calcined Aluminous Clays (Chamotte & Mullite) are used to produce Alumina Refractories for steel, cement and metal industries.
Besides having a dominant position in the Indian market, Ashapura is a preferred supplier of refractory raw materials & products in Europe, Middle East and South East Asia.
Standing
- India's largest producer of refactory.
Applications
- Abrasives
- Refactories
- Foundries
- Grinding
- Road Surfacing
Adsorbent Solutions
Ashapura offers a wide range of adsorbent solutions having applications from bleaching edible oils to refining of petroleum products and from purification of potable water to industrial waste. We have specialised products for heavy-metal removal and for reducing phosphates & nitrogen from liquids.
Calcined Clay Carriers are used in the pesticide, agro-chemicals and soil nutrient industries.
Standing
- Worlds third largest Bleaching Clay producer
Applications
- Bleaching Edible Oils
- Petroleum Refining
- Water Purification
- Bleaching Waste Oils
- Pet Care
Hydrocarbon Exploration Solutions
Ashapura offers an array of mineral solutions to drilling and exploration industries.We provide enriched drilling muds to some of the worlds largest oilfiled solutions companies across their global drilling bases in the North Sea, Middle East, South Asia and Africa.
Ashapura takes pride in being the pioneer & the largest manufacturer of Ceramic and Silica Proppants in India.
Standing
- Pioneer & largest producer of proppants in India
Applications
- Oil well drilling
- Hydraulic Fracturing
White Performance Minerals
Although Ashapura is a relatively new entrant in the domain of White Performance Minerals, it has quickly garnered a dominant market share on account of its indigenously developed processing technology, its state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and a captive mineral resource base. White Performance Minerals have myriad applications in paper, paints, rubber, pesticides, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
Ashapura's fully automated PLC based processes have been specifically designed to avoid human contamination risks and to maintain high purity and brightness.
Standing
- India's largest white minerals solutions provider
Application
- Ceramics
- Glass
- Paper
- Paints
- Plastics
- Building Products
Super Speciality Refined Mineral Products
Ashapura offers engineered and modified clay products for paints, sealants, plasters, polymers and coating applications which functionally enhance their flow and suspension properties as additives or binders. Atta Medigel & Pharma Bentogel, are fine-grained natural clays that are selectively mined and highly refined for pharmaceutical applications. These refined products adsorb microbial toxins and acidic substances providing a healthy digestive environment.
Our Aviation Fuel Solutions remove polar compounds & moisture from jet fuels thereby enhancing their performance.
Standing
- India's leading speciality minerals producer
Applications
- Sealants
- Plasters
- Polymers
- Pharmaceutical applications
- Aviation fuel enhancers
Building Materials and Chemicals
Ashapura has brought in its considerable technical expertise in inducting a wide range of products for waterproofing, repair &restoration, admixtures, grouts and floor hardeners.
Our rigorous R&D, manufacturing and quality control best practices have resulted in an enhanced and improved range of products such as CETCRETE, CETCOAT, CETPATCH, CETPROOF, CETPLAST, CETFIX and CETCRACK.
Ashapura’s range of products comes with the following advantages:
- Ease of use/application
- Durability
- Superior Aesthetics
Kaolin
Our products are mined from one of Purest Mines and Kaolinite reserves available in Gujarat & some of the Raw Materials are imported for enhancing the Quality of the Existing Products, they are further refined to remove impurities by ‘Double Wash’ method. These washed material are then passed through a series of automated process under the supervision of our QC team and experienced engineers.
Our Stringent control on ‘Process’ flow ensures final product with ‘High Brightness’, Excellent Fineness (Narrow Particle Size Distribution) and Consistent performance in every batch. Our state of the art centralized R & D facility along with well-equipped Paint & QC laboratory, coupled with team of experienced chemists and paint technologists’ work diligently to get the following benefits for perfect paint/coating formulations.
Typical Properties of Kaolin :
- Improved Dispersion / Suspension / Rheology
- Excellent Gloss / Sheen / Texture
- Enhanced ‘Tinting Strength’ & ‘Opacity’
- Improved Scrub Resistance / Wash ability / Water Resistance
- Improved Stain Resistance
- Enhanced ‘Weather ability’ & ‘Barrier’ Properties
- Enhanced ‘TiO2 & ‘Binder’ extension
- Reduction in ‘Formulation Cost’ by ‘Partial’ TiO2 replacement
Kaolin :
It is hydrated layered aluminium silicate material.It is a platy type of structure. Rocks that are rich in Kaolinite called Kaolin.
- Specific gravity- 2.20-2.65
- Hardness- 2-2.5
- Refractive Index-1.55-1.58
- LOI- 13-15 %.
Major Hydrous Products :
- Askline FG
- Ceralin – A, B & C Grades etc
- Paintolin
- Paintolin-80
- Wonderglaze
- Wondergloss
- Ashagloss-R powder etc.
- Major Hydrous Market Segments :
- Paints
- Paper
- Ceramics
- Fibreglass
- Catalysts
- Pesticides
- Inks
- Rubber
- Refractories etc
Silica Sand
Hard rock such as quartzite and hard minerals such as quartz, flint, chert etc. had been commonly used by man in Palaeolithic Age as weapons. Of all the non-metallic minerals, silica sand had the most diversified use. Silica bearing rocks and minerals such as quartz, quartzite, silica sand together with other varieties of silica like agate, amethyst, jasper, flint etc. are used in a host of industries such as glass, ceramics, foundries, ferro-alloys, abrasives, refractories, ornamentation etc.
The uses of silica sand depend on its mineralogy, chemistry and physical properties. It is mainly used for making glass and glass fibre, silicon carbide, sodium silicate, portland cement, silicon alloys and metals filter media in water treatment, sandpaper and also for foundry sand, hydraulic fracturing, sand blasting, paint and a host for other applications.
Ashapura silica sand resources are from both mining and by product generated from kaolin washing. Impurities are taken care by multiple stage washing followed by attrition scrubbing, magnetic separation and spiral classifier. Ferrous impurities are removed to assure best possible purity of silica sand for all the applications. Ashapura also has mechanical drying facility to address the drawbacks of natural drying considering the volume demand.
The advantages of Ashapura’s silica sand are
- Consistent quality
- Controlled granulometry
- Assured supply of volumes
- Expertise in bulk handling
- Customised solutions and grades
Ball Clay
Plastic clay also known as “Ball clay” and “pottery clay” it is one of the important component of all ceramic products such as Tiles, Tableware, Sanitaryware and Insulators. Kaolinite is a major mineral content in ball clay along with associated minerals such as Quartz, Illite, Smectite, potash feldspar, muscovite mica and calcite. Ball clay deposits also contains organic matter turning the appearance of these clays in to black, grey and off-white. Based on the origin, chemical composition, mineralogical and organic components, these plastic clays perform differently when used in applications.
Application properties such as rheological behaviour, plasticity, fired color and fired shrinkage play a important role in determining the use of ball clay. Ashapura Ball clay mining reserves are in the region of Rajasthan and Gujarat. From several decades Ashapura is delivering ball clay to many of its national and international clients. Mined lumpy clay is segregated and sorted to remove the impurities, further crushing is carried out to match the size specifications. Mostly the Ashapura ball clays are shipped to bulk from nearest port.
Ashapura technical team has core technical competencies to develop customised solutions and requirements.
Ashapura Ball clays have value added benefits as
- High Plasticity
- Good Refractoriness
- Balanced Chemistry
- Controlled physical properties
- Better Fired properties
- Precise Rheological stability