Calcium Carbonate – Uses, Prices, and Production

This blog is the third in a series of blogs I plan to write providing use, price, and production data on high-use inorganic and organic chemicals.  Click here to see the first blog in this series and a list of chemicals to be featured.  This blog provides data on calcium carbonate (CaCO3).

Uses.  Uses of calcium carbonate include:

Ø  As a filler and additive in products such as papers, plastics, paints, coatings, resins, rubbers, tablets, personal care, and food;

Ø  In drilling fluids;

Ø  In construction materials;

Ø  In agriculture as soil conditioners and plant nutrients;

Ø  As a cleaning agent;

Ø  In various industrial processes such as iron production and flue gas desulfurization;

Ø  In animal feed; and

Ø  In medical applications such as an anti-acid treatment, osteoporosis prevention, and kidney disease.

Calcium carbonate is found in about 4% of the earth’s crust, primarily in minerals calcite, aragonite, and vaterite, from which it is extracted.  Calcium carbonate is one of the most widely utilized of earth materials.

Calcium carbonate can be processed into forms and sizes including course (crushed), powder, fine, ultra-fine, and nano sizes.  Its use depends on these forms and sizes.

Calcium carbonate can also be synthesized by mixing calcium hydroxide with carbon dioxide.

Calcium carbonate processed from minerals is known as ground calcium carbonate (GCC) and calcium carbonate synthesized is known as precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC).  Precipitated calcium carbonate can have properties making it more suitable in some applications compared to ground calcium carbonate.

Prices.  Calcium carbonate 2019 metric ton (mt) prices appearing on the Internet for both ground and precipitated calcium carbonate are in the $100 to $200 per mt range.  Prices vary according to the forms, sizes, and other factors.  Prices for very course or very fine, including nano, are outside this range.

Production.  2019 calcium carbonate production estimates are in the 130 to 135 million mt range.  Assuming a 2019 average price for calcium carbonate of $150 per mt (see prices above) and an estimated 2019 production of 132.5 million mt, estimated revenues from calcium carbonate sales in 2019 are around $20 billion ($150 per mt times 132.5 million mt).