# Talc: Overview

Why plastics are now talc's biggest customer

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/talc/overview/

Why plastics are now talc's biggest customer What this tab covers What the commodity is used for, why, in what volumes and with what alternatives, and its chain from mine or field to end user. Also the latest price moves, top recent news, three things to know, and buttons into each tab.

#### Key uses

| Use | Share | Annual volume | Why this commodity | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Plastics (mainly polypropylene car parts and appliances)** | 36% | about 166,000 t a year in the USbasis | Platy talc stiffens polypropylene and raises its heat resistance at low cost and low weight, so bumpers, dashboards and appliance housings use talc-filled compounds. Its hydrophobic, soft surface also helps processing. Car lightweighting keeps this the largest US use. USGS MCS 2026, Talc and Pyrophyllite | Bentonite, kaolin, mica and wollastonite (USGS) Glass fibre for higher-strength parts Calcium carbonate in less demanding parts |
| **Paint and coatings** | 19% | about 87,000 t a year in the USbasis | Talc is a cheap extender that improves film strength, sag resistance and matting. Its use has fallen as the industry moved from oil-based to water-based paint, for which hydrophobic talc is less suited (USGS). USGS MCS 2026 | Chlorite, kaolin and mica (USGS) Calcium carbonate |
| **Ceramics, including cordierite substrates for car catalytic converters** | 17% | about 78,000 t a year in the USbasis | Talc supplies magnesium for cordierite, the low-expansion ceramic used for catalytic converter honeycombs, and acts as a flux in wall tile and sanitaryware bodies. Changes in tile formulas and fast firing have reduced talc use in tiles (USGS). USGS MCS 2026 | Bentonite, chlorite, feldspar, kaolin and pyrophyllite (USGS) Metallic or silicon carbide substrates for some filters |
| **Paper (filler, coating and pitch control)** | 12% | about 55,000 t a year in the USbasis | Talc fills and smooths paper and absorbs sticky wood resins (pitch) in pulp. Use began to fall in the 1990s and some pitch control moved to chemicals (USGS). In India, paper was the largest organised-sector use at 56% in 2014-15 (IBM). USGS MCS 2026; IBM Talc, Soapstone and Steatite review 2015 | Calcium carbonate and kaolin (USGS) Chemical pitch-control agents |
| **Roofing** | 8% | about 37,000 t a year in the USbasis | Talc is used as a filler in asphalt roofing and as a dusting agent that stops shingles sticking together in the pack. Low-grade talc is acceptable, so it is a cheap outlet for local mines. USGS MCS 2026 | Ground limestone Mica and sand as surfacing agents |
| **Rubber, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, agriculture and insecticide carriers, other** | 8% | about 37,000 t a year in the USbasis | Talc's softness, whiteness and inertness made it the base of body powders and a common tablet excipient. Asbestos-contamination litigation, an FDA testing proposal (2024) and an ECHA committee opinion classing talc as a presumed carcinogen (July 2025) are shrinking cosmetic use. USGS MCS 2026 | Cornstarch (body powder) Kaolin and mica (rubber, USGS) Microcrystalline cellulose (tablets) |

 Shares are US end uses of talc sold by US producers in 2025 (USGS). India's pattern differs: of 368,300 t used by the organised sector in 2014-15, paper took 56%, paint 20%, pesticides 11%, ceramics 8% and cosmetics 4% (IBM 2015).

#### From mine to user

1. **1. Deposit** Talc forms where magnesium-rich rocks (dolomite or serpentinite) are altered by hot fluids. India's resources were 269 Mt (reserves 90 Mt) in 2010, 49% in Rajasthan (IBM).
2. **2. Mining** Open pits and some underground mines. US: three companies, five mines in Montana, Texas and Vermont in 2025 (USGS).
3. **3. Sorting and grading** Ore is hand-sorted or optically sorted by whiteness. Indian grades run from A (90-95% whiteness, pharma and cosmetics) to D (78% or below, DDT grade) (IBM).
4. **4. Milling** Crushed and ground in roller or jet mills; micronised and delaminated grades for plastics. US milled talc averaged $330/t ex-works in 2025 (USGS).
5. **5. Beneficiation and testing** Flotation or magnetic cleaning raises purity; cosmetic and pharma grades are tested for asbestos under tighter rules proposed by the US FDA in December 2024.
6. **6. Trade** Afghan crude talc is milled and exported from Pakistan, which supplied 52% of US imports in 2021-24 (USGS).
7. **7. End users** Polypropylene compounders, paint, ceramic, paper and roofing plants.

#### Price movement snapshot 2026-10-25

No public daily or monthly benchmark price for this commodity in the datasets used.
 World production 7.44 m tonnes, 2024 Largest producer India 20.17% of world

#### Three things to know

- Plastics took 36% of US talc in 2025, the largest single use.
- In July 2025 the EU risk assessment committee recommended classifying talc as a Category 1B carcinogen.
- US talc imports from China rose about 125% in 2025, to roughly 27% of the total.

#### Top recent news snapshot 2026-10-25, last 30 days

- [Judge approves defunct talc supplier's $535 million settlement with Berkshire affiliate](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMixwFBVV95cUxPQU5nZmZpUmxCVjNMMm9WQzQ5N2pUWXFNUXVJZ3pvVWs0b1dzeEJYZC1FVy1iSlprMl9fYk4yODg2OWZ5ZjlKZU1tbk5ETjNoSURMNzhFa21lNVhyeUVDLU5Pdm4zMnRJVHU5QzNnZG5jUldTOGdzbGJ4bkN4enZlV2MtTTRVb1FnODZURTA1cTBJcUxHbGZKX2kxOHFDUFlqNUFzMzlRaC02UV9xUGxJLUlaRTJvb2k1QXMwRDUxNkRSZ29uQzBj?oc=5)Reuters · 2026-10-23

#### Read the tabs
[Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/talc/extraction/)[Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/talc/production/)[Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/talc/stocks/)[Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/talc/cycles/)[Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/talc/trading/)[Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/talc/movement/)[Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/talc/criticality/)[Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/talc/characteristics/)[Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/talc/emissions/)

## Other sections

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