# Mica

Sheet-forming silicate minerals, split into heat-resistant insulators or ground into flakes for plaster, paint, drilling mud and cosmetics.

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

Industrial minerals · No. 68

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

Mica splits into thin, transparent sheets that shrug off heat and electricity, and the best sheets are still trimmed by hand.

Chart: Illustration: Mica

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Micas, mainly muscovite and phlogopite, are layered silicates. Sheet mica comes from pegmatites and is extracted and trimmed largely by hand; flake mica comes from schists and as a by-product of feldspar and kaolin.

##### Three things to know

1. The US imports 100% of its sheet mica, and China supplied 73% of it in 2021-24.
2. Madagascar's scrap and flake output fell from about 90,000 t in 2024 to 70,000 t in 2025, while China led with 85,000 t.
3. Ground mica sold for about $320/t dry and $350/t wet in 2025, while sheet splittings fetched about $1.80/kg.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Ore**Pegmatite, schist or by-product of feldspar
2. 2 **Separation**Hand-cobbing for sheet, flotation for flake
3. 3 **Splitting or grinding**Thin sheets, or wet and dry grinding
4. 4 **Products**Splittings, mica paper, ground mica
5. 5 **End uses**Electrical insulation, joint compound, paint, drilling
 Covered in [Colour and protection: dyes, pigments, paints and coatingsChemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/chemicals/dyes-pigments-coatings/)

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

## Other sections

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