Diatomite: Cycles
From $10 to $1,000 a tonne, depending on grade
What this tab covers Price history and what drives booms and busts, including this commodity's super-cycles, the drivers behind them and the metrics to track. It charts monthly prices (World Bank) with a switch to inflation-adjusted annual prices; where there is no World Bank series it uses USGS US prices.Prices vary more by grade than over time. In 2025 diatomite sold from about $10/t as concrete aggregate to over $1,000/t for specialty uses such as DNA extraction. Filtration grades fetched about $580/t. The US average value jumped from $416/t in 2022 to $580/t in 2023 and has held there. Demand is defensive, tied to beer, wine, food processing and water treatment. The long-term threat is substitution by membrane and cellulose filters, not the business cycle.
US price, Diatomite, average US value, f.o.b. plant
2021 410 2022 416 2023 580 2024 575 2025 580 dollars per metric ton. USGS MCS 2026; 2025 is an estimate.Super-cycles in diatomite
Diatomite has no commodity super-cycle. It is a specialty product sold by grade on contracts, and demand follows beverages, water treatment and construction. The notable trend of the 2020s is lower US output but higher prices: production fell from 998 kt in 2021 to 720 kt in 2025 while the average value rose from $410/t to $580/t. Long-run pressures are membrane filtration, which competes with filter aids, and crystalline silica health rules. World output was about 2.5 Mt in 2025 (USGS).
- 2016 onward
Tighter US workplace limits on respirable crystalline silica (OSHA rule, 2016) and California warning requirements raised compliance costs for calcined grades and pushed users to test alternatives.
No price series for this period in the sources used
- 2021-2023
US production fell by about 15% while the average unit value jumped by about 40%; USGS gives no reason for the rise.
US average value $410/t (2021), $416/t (2022), $580/t (2023) (USGS)
- 2024-2025
US output fell to about 720 kt and stayed there; Imerys consolidated European capacity by buying Chemviron's diatomite and perlite business (about EUR 50 million of 2024 revenue).
US average value $575/t (2024) and $580/t (2025); filtration grades about $580/t, specialty grades above $1,000/t (USGS)
What drives the cycle
- Beer, wine and spirits output. The largest filtration market for diatomite.
- Drinking-water regulation. Diatomite filters remove bacteria, protozoa and viruses in public water systems (USGS).
- Membrane and cellulose filters. Competing filter media gaining ground (USGS).
- Crystalline silica rules. Raise costs and risk for calcined grades.
- Freight cost. Sets how far most grades can travel and still compete (USGS).
Metrics to track
| Metric | Why it matters | Where to track it |
|---|---|---|
| US diatomite production and unit value | Benchmark for the largest producer | USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries |
| World beer production | Filter-aid demand | BarthHaas annual report |
| World wine production | Filter-aid demand | International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) |
| Imerys results | Largest listed diatomite producer | Imerys quarterly results |