Olivine sunrise

摘要

OWING TO its insulating, heat storing, and refractory properties, olivine is the raw material of choice for bonded forsterite bricks, and for refractory monolithics, such as taphole filler material in electric arc furnaces. However, there are very few commercial sources of the mineral. In fact, until now, there was really only one major supplier of olivine - North Cape Minerals AS (NCM) based in Baerum, Norway. NCM boasts a huge production capacity of over 4m. tpa olivine. With smaller scale regional supply limited to Italy and Turkey, olivine consumers had little choice in where to go. It is said that all good things come to those who wait. Well, at last the olivine market has another source. The first shipment of olivine from Greenland arrived in Amsterdam in December 2005. Moreover, it had been just over two years in the making (and only six months from start of construction), which is pretty good going for a greenfield industrial mineral development.