Talc: Extraction
How hot fluids turn rock into the softest mineral
What this tab covers How it is mined, drilled or grown, and processed into a tradeable form: the main methods compared, their unit economics, by-products, and the companies that do this work globally and in India.Talc is a hydrous magnesium silicate formed when magnesium-rich rocks such as dolomite or serpentinite are altered by hot fluids. It is mined from open pits and some underground mines, then hand- or machine-sorted and milled to fine powders. Value depends on whiteness, purity and particle shape. Some deposits contain asbestos minerals, which is why testing matters. In the United States, three companies ran five mines in Montana, Texas and Vermont in 2025. Pyrophyllite, a similar mineral, is mined in North Carolina.
Talc mining is small-scale compared with metals: the whole world mined about 6.9 Mt in 2025 (USGS). Most value is added in milling, where particle size, whiteness and lamellarity decide the price. Ore quality varies a lot, so producers grade it by colour and chemistry at the mine. Three supply models dominate: integrated Western mine-to-mill producers selling specialty grades, large Chinese and Indian producers serving local and Asian markets, and an informal Afghan-Pakistani chain that mills crude talc in Pakistan for export.
Methods compared
| Method | Share of supply | Typical scale | Recovery / efficiency | By-products | Unit cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Integrated mine and specialty mill (Europe, North America) | France 300 kt, Finland 200 kt, Italy 170 kt and US 490 kt in 2025, together about 17% of world output (USGS) | US average mine about 100 kt/yr (490 kt from five mines, USGS 2025) | n/a | n/a | Not published; US milled talc price about $330/t ex-works in 2025, range $298-333/t over 2021-25 (USGS) |
| Large-volume steatite mining with colour grading (India, Rajasthan) | India 1.5 Mt in 2025, about 22% of world output (USGS); Rajasthan made 82% of India's output in 2014-15 (IBM) | Ten principal producers made about 72% of India's output in 2014-15 (IBM) | n/a | n/a | Not published; India exported steatite worth Rs 563 crore in 2022-23 (IBM) |
| Chinese talc mining (Liaoning, Guangxi, Shandong) | China 1.3 Mt in 2025, about 19% of world output (USGS); 15.6% of world export value in 2024 (UN Comtrade) | n/a | n/a | n/a | Not published |
| Artisanal mining in Afghanistan, milling in Pakistan | Pakistan supplied 49% of US imports in 2025 and 9.5% of world export value in 2024 (USGS; UN Comtrade) | n/a | n/a | n/a | Not published |
How each method works
Integrated mine and specialty mill (Europe, North America)Producers such as Imerys (France), IMI Fabi (Italy, now also Finland) and Magris (North America) mine high-purity talc and run their own micronising and surface-treatment plants, selling technical grades to plastics, paint and ceramics customers on contract.
High-value technical grades; exposed to litigation and regulatory costs.
USGS MCS 2026; Elementis talc sale release (May 2025) Large-volume steatite mining with colour grading (India, Rajasthan)Open-cast steatite mines around Udaipur, Bhilwara and Dungarpur are worked by many private firms; ore is hand-sorted into whiteness grades and ground in local mills for paper, paint, pesticides and export.
Large, low-cost resource; about half of output was low-value insecticide (DDT) grade in 2014-15.
USGS MCS 2026; IBM reviews 2015 and 2023 Chinese talc mining (Liaoning, Guangxi, Shandong)Large state and private mines produce both lump and powder grades; China is a major exporter of high-whiteness talc and supplied 27% of US imports in 2025.
Scale and whiteness; export flows react to Chinese policy and tariffs.
USGS MCS 2026; UN Comtrade 2024 Artisanal mining in Afghanistan, milling in PakistanCrude talc from Afghanistan's Nangarhar region is trucked to Pakistan, milled and exported as Pakistani talc. USGS lists Afghanistan output at about 200 kt in 2025.
Cheap supply; weak traceability and governance in Afghanistan.
USGS MCS 2026; UN Comtrade 2024 Unit economics are indicative ranges from the sources named; costs vary widely by deposit, region and year.Who does it: global
| Company | Country | Activity | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imerys Talc volume not published | France | talc mining and milling in Europe (Trimouns, France); sold North American talc to Magris in 2023 | not published | 2025 | Company information |
| IMI Fabi Volume not published | Italy | talc mining and milling; bought Elementis' Finnish talc business (Mondo Minerals) in May 2025 | not published | 2025 | Elementis release, 27 May 2025 (enterprise value $121 million) |
| Magris Talc (Magris Resources) Volume not published | Canada | North American talc mines and mills acquired from Imerys | not published | 2025 | GCI Magazine report of the acquisition |
| Minerals Technologies (Barretts Minerals) Volume not published | US | talc mining in Montana; Barretts filed for Chapter 11 in 2023 over talc claims | not published | 2025 | Company information |
| Liaoning Aihai Talc Volume not published | China | talc mining and milling (Haicheng, Liaoning) | not published | 2025 | Company information |
Who does it: India
| Company | Country | Activity | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golcha Associated Exports Volume not published | India | talc mining, milling and export (Rajasthan) | not published | 2025 | Company profile |
| Associated Soapstone Distributing Co. Company output not published | India | steatite mining (Udaipur) | not published | 2014-15 | IBM Talc, Soapstone and Steatite review 2015 (named principal producer) |
| Udaipur Mineral Development Syndicate Company output not published | India | steatite mining (Rajasthan) | not published | 2014-15 | IBM review 2015 (named principal producer) |
| Nalwaya Mineral Industries Company output not published | India | steatite mining and milling (Rajasthan) | not published | 2014-15 | IBM review 2015 (named principal producer) |
India is the world's largest talc (steatite) producer at about 1.5 Mt in 2025 (USGS), mostly from Rajasthan. Production fell from 888 kt in 2013-14 in IBM's last full count before steatite became a state-regulated minor mineral in 2015; India exported 158 kt in 2014-15, mainly to Thailand, Indonesia and the UAE (IBM).