Garnet: Cycles

How one mine's stockpile sank the 2025 price

Garnet has no benchmark price. The US import unit value swung from $280/t in 2021 to $194/t in 2022, then $270/t in 2024 and $170/t in 2025. The 39% fall in 2025 coincided with heavy shipments of previously mined South African stock. Domestic crude concentrate fetched about $220/t. Demand follows shipbuilding, metal fabrication and oil and gas drilling, which uses garnet to clean pipe and as a proppant. The US rig count fell 6% in 2025.

US price, Garnet, average US import unit value

Super-cycles in garnet

Garnet has no exchange price and no classic super-cycle; its swings come from supply shocks in a market with few producers. India's private beach-sand industry was a large exporter until court orders and atomic-mineral rules shut it between 2013 and 2019. Australia and China filled the gap. In the 2020s, US import prices have swung with one-off flows: the average import unit value fell from $280/t (2021) to $194/t (2022), recovered to $270/t (2024), then dropped to $170/t (2025) as South African stocks were sold after its mine shut.

1. 2000-2013

   Private miners in Tamil Nadu expanded beach-sand mining for garnet, ilmenite and zircon, mining about 900,000 t of garnet in 2000-2008, well above legal limits, and India became a large garnet exporter.

   No price series in the sources used

2. 2013-2019

   The National Green Tribunal (2013), a 2016 ban on private mining of sand with over 0.75% monazite, and a February 2019 rule reserving atomic minerals to government agencies ended private beach-sand mining. Australian and Chinese supply grew to fill the gap.

   No price series; Indian output fell to 8,182 t by 2021-22 (IBM)

3. 2021-2022

   US imports nearly doubled to 268,000 t in 2022 and the average import value fell; USGS gives no reason.

   US import unit value $280/t (2021) to $194/t (2022) (USGS)

4. 2024-2026

   South Africa's garnet mine suspended operations in November 2024 because of debts; its stockpiles flooded the US market in 2025, lifting US imports 37%. New Australian supply is planned at Port Gregory (PFS July 2026).

   US import unit value $270/t (2024) to $170/t (2025), down 39%; US crude concentrate about $220/t (USGS)

What drives the cycle

• Oil, gas and shipbuilding activity. Blasting and pipe cleaning are the largest uses.
• Manufacturing and waterjet installations. Waterjet cutting is a steady, growing outlet.
• Indian beach-sand policy. Reopening or tightening of Indian supply changes world balances.
• Few large suppliers. Australia, China and the US mined 97% of 2025 output, so one mine closure moves the market.
• Silica dust regulation. Favours garnet over silica sand in blasting.

Metrics to track