# Garnet

A hard, dense and reusable silicate mineral, used for abrasive blasting, waterjet cutting and water filtration.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/garnet/

Industrial minerals · No. 69

- Not on a critical list
 Industrial minerals · Foundation · Matter

Garnet, the gemstone of Anglo-Saxon jewellery, now blasts ship hulls and cuts steel in waterjets, and can be reused several times.

Chart: Illustration: Garnet

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Industrial garnet, mostly almandine, comes from gneisses, schists and heavy-mineral sands. Australia and India dredge beach and river sands, while New York mines gneiss near North Creek.

##### Three things to know

1. South Africa's garnet mine suspended work in November 2024, cutting its output from 40,000 t to zero.
2. Garnet contains almost no free silica, making it a safer substitute for silica sand in blasting and the standard waterjet abrasive.
3. Plants in Oregon and Pennsylvania, with capacities of 16,000 and 25,000 tons a year, recycle used garnet.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Ore**Gneiss, schist or heavy-mineral sand
2. 2 **Mining**Open pit or dredge
3. 3 **Separation**Gravity and magnetic separation
4. 4 **Grading**Crushed, screened into mesh sizes
5. 5 **End uses**Blasting abrasive, waterjet cutting, filter media

##### Go deeper pick a tab to open it in full

## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/garnet/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/garnet/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/garnet/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/garnet/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/garnet/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/garnet/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/garnet/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/garnet/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/garnet/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/garnet/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/garnet/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/garnet/links/index.md)