# Wollastonite

A needle-shaped calcium silicate that strengthens ceramics, plastics and paint, and replaced asbestos in brakes and boards.

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

Industrial minerals · No. 72

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

A white rock that grows as tiny needles quietly took over the brake pads and boards where asbestos used to be.

Chart: Illustration: Wollastonite

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

It forms where silica-rich limestone is cooked by deep heat or hot fluids near magma, then is dug from open pits. World output was about 860,000 t in 2025.

##### Three things to know

1. China mined about 600,000 t in 2025, roughly 70% of the reported world total, with India and Mexico far behind.
2. Its needle-shaped crystals stiffen plastics, paint and brake pads, and fine high-aspect grades sell for many times coarse ceramic powder.
3. The 2024 US ban on chrysotile asbestos could push more wollastonite into brake and friction products.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Baked limestone**Silica-rich limestone altered by heat or fluids
2. 2 **Open pit**Ore dug from shallow pits
3. 3 **Cleaning**Garnet and diopside removed magnetically
4. 4 **Grinding**Milled to powder or needle grades
5. 5 **Coating**Surface treated for use in plastics
6. 6 **Products**Ceramics, plastics, paint and brake linings

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

## Other sections

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