Iron oxide pigments

Rust made useful: cheap, stable red, yellow, brown and black pigments that colour concrete, bricks, paint and plastics.

Industrial minerals · No. 77

• Not on a critical list

Rust made useful: the red of your roof tiles and the yellow of paving blocks come from carefully ground iron oxide.

Chart: Illustration: Iron oxide pigments

Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Natural pigments are earths like ochre, sienna and umber dug from shallow deposits; synthetic ones are made from steel-pickling liquor and scrap iron.

Three things to know

1. India reported about 3.4 million t of ochre in 2025, more than ten times Germany's 280,000 t of pigment.
2. The US imports 84% of its iron oxide pigments, with China supplying 44% and Germany 30% over 2021-24.
3. The US pigment unit value nearly doubled from $1.03 per kg in 2021 to $1.92 in 2022.

The journey

1. 1 Earth or scrapOchre, umber, hematite, or pickling liquor
2. 2 Mine or reactDug and washed, or chemically precipitated
3. 3 MillingGround and micronised to fine powder
4. 4 Colour matchingBlended to a standard shade
5. 5 ProductsColoured concrete, roof tile, paint, plastics

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