# Vermiculite: Cycles A mineral with no published price at all Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/vermiculite/cycles/ What this tab covers Price history and what drives booms and busts, including this commodity's super-cycles, the drivers behind them and the metrics to track. It charts monthly prices (World Bank) with a switch to inflation-adjusted annual prices; where there is no World Bank series it uses USGS US prices. The USGS publishes no US price series for vermiculite concentrate. Demand is tied to horticulture and construction rather than to heavy industry. Agriculture takes 30% of US exfoliated use, lightweight concrete 16% and insulation 15%. Reported US exfoliated consumption slipped from 68,000 t in 2021 to 55,000 t in 2025. With a few mines supplying most of the world, a single closure or quality problem can move the market more than demand does. No public benchmark price series for this commodity in the datasets used. Many minor materials trade on private contracts. #### Super-cycles in vermiculite Vermiculite has no exchange price and no published long-run price series, so it shows no measurable super-cycle. USGS lists the US ex-plant concentrate price as not available for 2021-2025. Volumes move with horticulture and building activity, and with supply from a handful of mines. The biggest structural shock was health-related: the Libby, Montana mine, whose ore was contaminated with amphibole asbestos, closed in 1990, and buyers since then prize certified clean ore. World output has hovered between about 430,000 and 520,000 t a year in 2020-2025. 1. 1990 The Libby mine in Montana closed after its vermiculite was found to contain asbestos, a source of lasting litigation and a reason buyers now check ore for fibres. No price series published for the period. 2. 2020-2022 World output rose about 18% as producers in South Africa, the US and Brazil supplied stronger horticulture and construction demand. World output 428,338 t (2020) to 504,378 t (2022) (World Mining Data 2026); no price series. 3. 2023-2025 Output and trade swung year to year; US imports jumped then eased as Brazilian and South African shipments varied. US imports 24,000 t (2022), 50,000 t (2023), 38,000 t (2025) (USGS); South African HS 253010 exports averaged about $298/t and Brazilian about $380/t in 2024 (UN Comtrade unit values, indicative). #### What drives the cycle - **Horticulture and greenhouse demand.** Agriculture is the largest single US use at 30%, so growing-media demand sets the base load. - **Construction and fire protection.** Lightweight concrete, plasters and insulation take about 31% of US use and follow building activity. - **South African supply.** One complex at Phalaborwa supplies about a third of the world, so its output and export logistics move the market. - **Asbestos contamination concerns.** The Libby legacy means buyers and regulators scrutinise fibre content, favouring certified deposits. - **Competition from perlite.** Expanded perlite substitutes in most uses, which caps vermiculite prices. #### Metrics to track | Metric | Why it matters | Where to track it | |---|---|---| | **World vermiculite production by country** | Shows shifts between South Africa, the US, Brazil and Africa | USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries (annual) and World Mining Data (Austrian Ministry of Finance, annual) | | **US imports of HS 2530.10 by source** | Tracks Brazilian and South African shipments | US Census Bureau trade data (USA Trade Online) | | **HS 253010 export unit values** | Only public price proxy for concentrate | UN Comtrade | | **US housing starts** | Proxy for plaster, concrete and insulation demand | US Census Bureau, monthly new residential construction | | **Palabora and HBIS Resources output disclosures** | Largest single supplier | HBIS Resources annual reports | ## Other sections - [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/vermiculite/index.md) - [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/vermiculite/overview/index.md) - [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/vermiculite/correlation/index.md) - [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/vermiculite/extraction/index.md) - [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/vermiculite/production/index.md) - [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/vermiculite/stocks/index.md) - [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/vermiculite/trading/index.md) - [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/vermiculite/movement/index.md) - [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/vermiculite/criticality/index.md) - [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/vermiculite/characteristics/index.md) - [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/vermiculite/emissions/index.md) - [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/vermiculite/links/index.md)