Industrial Minerals and Masterbatch: What Buyers Should Specify

Industrial Minerals and Masterbatch: What Buyers Should Specify

Phoenician Stone Group works with raw-material minerals (calcium carbonate, silica and kaolin) and natural rock asphalt, alongside architectural stone. Its Masterbatch Division supplies colour and additive masterbatch for plastics processing. Grades and specifications are confirmed for each enquiry: the right material depends on your process, so this guide explains what to tell us.

Calcium carbonate

Calcium carbonate's main use is in construction, and it is also widely used as an extender in paints, as a filler in plastics and as a filler in paper.¹ We supply micronized (finely ground) calcium carbonate. When you enquire, tell us the application, the particle size or fineness you need, any whiteness or purity requirement in your specification, and the packaging and quantity.

Silica

Industrial silica sands are high-silica sands used across many industrial applications, glassmaking among them.² Tell us your application and the properties your process requires, such as grain size range and chemical limits from your specification.

Kaolin

Kaolin is a clay mineral; in the United States its main markets are paper and refractories.³ For an enquiry, describe the end use and the properties your specification sets.

Natural rock asphalt

Natural rock asphalt is a bitumen-bearing carbonate rock. It is used as a natural asphalt modifier for road paving, waterproofing membranes and specialty construction materials, without refining or polymer additives. Bitumen occurs naturally in deposits around the world, bituminous rock was used for paving streets from the 1870s, and natural asphalt is still used as an additive in road construction.⁴ Bitumen content varies by source, so specifications are confirmed for each enquiry. We supply it as a fully dry powder.

Masterbatch: the basics

A masterbatch is a concentrated mixture of pigments and/or additives, blended and extruded in a carrier, and added in small proportions to a base plastic; a typical ratio is 1–5% of the base polymer.⁵ Colour masterbatches colour the plastic; additive masterbatches give it other properties. Because the carrier can change the properties of the final plastic, it should match or suit the base polymer.⁵

Our Masterbatch Division offers colour masterbatch (black, white and custom shades), additive masterbatch including UV and thermal stabilisers, and polymer-specific formulations for PP, PE, PET, PS and other polymers, for packaging, automotive, agriculture, household and textile applications.

What to send with a masterbatch enquiry

• the base polymer and grade, and the processing method (for example injection moulding, film or fibre);
• the colour target, ideally a physical sample or a colour reference, and the opacity you need;
• the additive function required (for example UV stabilisation) and the end use;
• the intended let-down ratio, if you have one;
• any regulatory or customer requirements the product must meet;
• quantities, packaging and delivery destination.

How we answer

We confirm grades, specifications and documentation for each enquiry rather than publishing generic figures. Send an enquiry, or see our materials and the Masterbatch Division.

Short answers on quotes, inspection before loading, delivery, payment and export documents are in our buyer questions.