Mica: Characteristics
Thin, flexible sheets that resist heat and electricity
What this tab covers The supply and physical characteristics of the commodity. Supply: current production, inventories and stocks, capacity utilisation, geographic and producer concentration, how fast supply responds to price, the project pipeline and capital spending, and logistics and export flows. Material: the physical and chemical properties that set its grade, price and end uses (for example purity and conductivity for metals, API gravity, sulfur and energy content for fuels, moisture, protein and fibre quality for crops).Supply volume characteristics
| Characteristic | Figure | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current production volume | about 350,000 t scrap and flake mica (2025e), down from 376,000 t in 2024; sheet mica not reported except India 1,000 t | China 85,000 t, Madagascar 70,000 t, Finland 57,000 t, US 26,000 t and Korea 15,000 t of scrap and flake in 2025. Reliable data for some major sheet producers are unavailable (USGS). | USGS MCS 2026 |
| Inventory and stock levels | not published; no exchange; the US no longer holds a mica stockpile | Stocks are held by processors and exporters in Koderma and Giridih (Jharkhand) and in China. The US kept a strategic mica stockpile in the mid-20th century but lists none today. | USGS MCS 2026 |
| Capacity utilisation | not published | Formal capacity is not reported. India's recorded output (636 t crude, 11,852 t scrap in 2014-15) was far below exports of 140,960 t, showing most supply comes from informal collection outside formal capacity (IBM). | IBM Mica review 2015 |
| Geographic and producer concentration | China about 24%, top-3 (China, Madagascar, Finland) about 61%, HHI about 1,400 (scrap and flake, 2025); India 31.2% of world export value (2024) | Derived from USGS 2025 data. Trade concentration is higher: India, China and Madagascar supplied 64% of export value; China took 48.1% of imports. | USGS MCS 2026; UN Comtrade 2024 |
| Supply elasticity | high for scrap and flake, including by-product supply; low for natural sheet (hand labour) | US scrap is a by-product of feldspar, kaolin and sand processing, so it follows host output (USGS). Sheet mica requires hand splitting, so supply responds to labour availability rather than price; synthetic mica can substitute. | USGS MCS 2026 |
| Project pipeline and CapEx | not published | No named projects found. Synthetic fluorphlogopite capacity in China and audited supply programmes (Responsible Mica Initiative) shape future supply. | USGS MCS 2026; content_v2 |
| Logistics and export flows | world export value $210 million in 2024; India 31.2%, China 18.2%, Madagascar 14.8%; China 48.1% of imports | Scrap moves from Jharkhand and Bihar collectors to Kolkata port, and from Madagascar to China for processing into pearlescent pigment grades. Traceability, not transport, is the main bottleneck. | UN Comtrade 2024; IBM 2015 |
Material characteristics Industrial mineral
Mica splits into thin, flexible, transparent sheets that resist heat and electricity. Sheet mica is graded by size and visual quality for electrical insulation. Ground mica is sold on particle size, aspect ratio and brightness for joint compound, paint, plastics and pearlescent pigments. Muscovite and phlogopite differ mainly in heat resistance.
| Property | Value / specification | Why it matters | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dielectric strength | muscovite sheet roughly 100-200 kV/mm (indicative) | Makes mica a high-grade electrical insulator in heaters, capacitors and motors | Standard mineral data (indicative) |
| Thermal stability | muscovite to about 500-600 C; phlogopite to about 800-900 C (indicative) | Sets use in heating elements, gaskets and EV battery fire barriers | Standard mineral data (indicative) |
| Sheet size and visual quality | graded by usable area and visual quality classes (e.g. ASTM D351) | Larger, clearer sheets command far higher prices | ASTM D351 |
| Particle size and aspect ratio (ground mica) | wet-ground grades finer than about 45 microns with high aspect ratio (indicative) | Platy particles reinforce plastics and give barrier and sheen in coatings | Producer specifications (indicative) |
| Brightness and colour | high-brightness muscovite for cosmetics and pigments | Pearlescent pigment substrates need clean, white mica | Producer specifications (indicative) |
| Hardness and cleavage | Mohs 2-2.5; perfect basal cleavage | Allows splitting into thin films (splittings priced about $1.80/kg in US imports, 2025) | USGS MCS 2026; standard mineral data |