Industrial Minerals expands its product range

High-quality glass sands, feldspars and clays for ceramic bodies.

Minerali Industriali, a company based in Novara, Italy with a strong national and global presence, is a leading player in the extraction, processing and marketing of raw materials for a range of industrial applications. It operates 27 production units worldwide (12 in Italy, 4 elsewhere in Europe, 1 in Asia, 3 in North Africa and 7 in Central and South America) and employs approximately 650 people, half of whom are based in Italy, alongside several hundred subcontractors. It sold more than 3.5 million tonnes of raw materials in 2023.

The ceramic industry is an important market for Minerali Industriali. Its plants in Boca (Novara), Verbania, and Brusnengo (Biella) focus primarily on producing various types of potassium and sodium feldspars, ideal for the production of glazed porcelain stoneware. The company also recently started up two new mixing platforms in Bondeno (Ferrara) and Ravenna. With this flexible infrastructure, Minerali Industriali offers a wide range of clay blends that are sourced from national deposits in Piedmont and Sardinia and from international sites and are ideal for the production of glazed porcelain stoneware, technical porcelain stoneware and large-format slabs.

Savel C glass sands

One particularly significant innovation developed by the Sasil subsidiary in Brusnengo is Savel C glass, an innovative and sustainable solution.

This material, made entirely from 100% post-consumer glass, is recycled by primary recyclers from separate waste collection and processed for integration into the production cycles of the ceramic, brick and glass industries.

Sasil’s patented process achieves an overall efficiency of 85%, significantly reducing waste materials, energy consumption in glass production and CO₂ emissions. These characteristics make Savel C an ideal fusibility promoter for ceramic bodies used in porcelain stoneware production. It also helps ceramic companies’ products obtain LEED, ECO and GREEN certifications in keeping with their growing commitment to a circular economy.

A new flotation plant in Sardinia

The technology division has also undergone a series of upgrades. Following months of intensive development work, Minerali Industriali Engineering (MIE) successfully completed testing on the new flotation plant in Orani (Nuoro), operated by its subsidiary Maffei Sarda Silicati (MSS). Launched in early 2023, this project marks a strategic milestone for Minerali Industriali and aims to produce high-quality floated feldspar that meets both domestic and international demand while improving the aesthetics and technical performance of ceramic surfaces.

…and a new clay deposit

Maffei Sarda Silicati has also acquired a deposit of plastic kaolinitic-illitic clay, ideal for the production of glazed and technical porcelain stoneware. This acquisition represents a significant competitive advantage as it further expands the range of high-quality, high-performance raw materials available to the ceramic sector, ensuring supply continuity and competitiveness in response to the increasing domestic and international demand.

Through ongoing investments in technology and resources, Minerali Industriali is reaffirming its commitment to make the ceramic industry ever more environmentally friendly. Its collaborations with Sasil and Maffei Sarda Silicati exemplify this dedication, contributing to the shared objective of a circular economy through the use of recycled raw materials and low environmental-impact production processes.