Asbestos: Extraction
Six minerals share the name, but only one is still mined
What this tab covers How it is mined, drilled or grown, and processed into a tradeable form: the main methods compared, their unit economics, by-products, and the companies that do this work globally and in India.Asbestos is a trade name for six fibrous silicate minerals. Only chrysotile, a serpentine mineral, has had significant commercial use this century. It forms as veins in altered ultramafic rock and is mined in large open pits. The ore is crushed and dried, and the fibres are lifted off by air suction and graded by length. Longer fibres are worth more. The same fibrous habit that makes asbestos strong, flexible and fire-resistant also makes it dangerous. Inhaled fibres lodge in the lungs and cause asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer.
Commercial asbestos today is chrysotile, a fibrous serpentine. Four countries mine it: Russia, Kazakhstan, China and Brazil. Ore from large open pits is crushed, dried and passed through mills that free the fibres and grade them by length. Long fibres are worth more. The fibre is then bagged and sold, mostly to asbestos-cement plants in Asia. The only other route to supply is reprocessing old tailings, as may happen in Zimbabwe. Bans and lawsuits, not geology, set the outlook.
Methods compared
| Method | Share of supply | Typical scale | Recovery / efficiency | By-products | Unit cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open-pit chrysotile mining with dry milling | essentially all supply (Russia 310,000 t, Kazakhstan 250,000 t, China 250,000 t, Brazil 150,000 t, 2025, USGS) | Kostanay Minerals over 250,000 t a year (2022); Brazil's single producer 166,890 t of export sales (2024) | n/a | Large serpentinite waste dumps | not published; US import unit value $1,880/t (2021) and $2,630/t (2022) (USGS) |
| Asbestos-cement sheet and pipe making | the main remaining use of fibre (USGS) | about 8-10% chrysotile, 45% cement, 30-35% fly ash by weight (IBM) | n/a | n/a | India's imported fibre averaged about Rs 34,400/t (2019-20) and Rs 38,400/t (2020-21) (indicative, basis: IBM import value / quantity) |
| Tailings reprocessing | small and unknown; Zimbabwe may produce this way (USGS) | not published | n/a | n/a | not published |
How each method works
Open-pit chrysotile mining with dry millingSerpentinite ore is blasted and hauled, crushed, dried and milled. Air separation lifts fibres from the rock, and screens grade them into long, medium and short groups.
Cheap fibre from huge deposits; carcinogenic, banned in many countries, with heavy liability risk.
USGS MCS 2026; Forbes Kazakhstan, Dec 2022 Asbestos-cement sheet and pipe makingChrysotile is dispersed in a cement and fly-ash slurry, formed into sheets or wound into pipes, pressed and cured.
Very cheap roofing; workers and users face health risks and a growing number of bans.
IBM Indian Minerals Yearbook 2021, Asbestos Tailings reprocessingFibre is recovered from old mine dumps rather than fresh ore.
Low capital; output and status uncertain.
USGS MCS 2026, Asbestos Unit economics are indicative ranges from the sources named; costs vary widely by deposit, region and year.Who does it: global
| Company | Country | Activity | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kostanay Minerals Kazakhstan's only producer; exports about 95% of output. | Kazakhstan | chrysotile mining (Zhitikara) | 250 kt chrysotile (more than) | 2022 | Forbes Kazakhstan, Dec 2022 |
| Uralasbest Company volume not found; Russia produced about 310,000 t in 2025 (USGS). | Russia | chrysotile mining (Asbest, Sverdlovsk region) | not published | n/a | |
| SAMA (Brazil's only producer, Minacu, Goias) Goias passed a 2024 law setting a 5-year deadline to end mining once a closure plan is agreed. | Brazil | chrysotile mining for export | 167 kt export sales | 2024 | USGS MCS 2026, Asbestos (export sales reported by the only producer in Brazil) |
| Chinese producers Company split not published. | China | chrysotile mining | 250 kt (country total, estimate) | 2025 | USGS MCS 2026, Asbestos |
Who does it: India
| Company | Country | Activity | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HIL Ltd Asbestos fibre use not published. | India | fibre-cement roofing sheets | not published | n/a | |
| Visaka Industries Asbestos fibre use not published. | India | fibre-cement roofing sheets | not published | n/a | |
| Everest Industries Asbestos fibre use not published. | India | fibre-cement roofing and boards | not published | n/a | |
| Ramco Industries Asbestos fibre use not published. | India | fibre-cement roofing sheets | not published | n/a |
India has no working asbestos mine but 22.9 Mt of resources, 59% in Rajasthan and 36% in Karnataka (IBM 2021). It imported 308,506 t in 2020-21, 63% from Russia and 23% from Brazil (IBM), almost all for asbestos-cement sheets and pipes.