Zeolites: Characteristics
What makes one zeolite rock worth more than another
What this tab covers The supply and physical characteristics of the commodity. Supply: current production, inventories and stocks, capacity utilisation, geographic and producer concentration, how fast supply responds to price, the project pipeline and capital spending, and logistics and export flows. Material: the physical and chemical properties that set its grade, price and end uses (for example purity and conductivity for metals, API gravity, sulfur and energy content for fuels, moisture, protein and fibre quality for crops).Supply volume characteristics
| Characteristic | Figure | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current production volume | about 1.3 Mt of natural zeolites (2025e), up from 1.24 Mt (2024) | Slovakia (280,000 t), Georgia (240,000 t), Korea (160,000 t), China (150,000 t) and Russia (130,000 t) lead. Much of this is low-value construction tuff; US output of 80,000 t is high-value specialty product. Synthetic zeolites are a separate chemical market not counted here. | USGS MCS 2026, Zeolites (Natural) |
| Inventory and stock levels | not published | USGS states information on industry stocks was unavailable. There are no exchange or government stocks. | USGS MCS 2026 |
| Capacity utilisation | not published | Bear River Zeolite produced 11,095 short tons (about 10,100 t) in 2024 and 3,802 short tons in Q1 2025, an annualised rate of about 15,000 short tons, so output can vary widely within existing plant. | United States Antimony Corp technical report, 2025 |
| Geographic and producer concentration | Slovakia 22%; top-3 (Slovakia, Georgia, Korea) about 53%; HHI about 1,400 | Moderately unconcentrated. Company shares are not published; the US has seven mines in six states. Comparisons are rough because countries report different products. | USGS MCS 2026 (HHI computed) |
| Supply elasticity | relatively high: simple open-pit mining of large deposits | Two US companies reported 80 Mt of reserves in 2022 against 80,000 t of US output. Supply responds to demand within months; the limit is market size and competition from clays and synthetic zeolites. | USGS MCS 2026 |
| Project pipeline and CapEx | not published | No large projects are named. Bear River reported reserves of 5.13 million short tons in May 2025. US sales rose for the second year in 2025 after a seven-year low in 2023. | United States Antimony Corp, 2025; USGS MCS 2026 |
| Logistics and export flows | mostly domestic and regional; US trade under 1,000 t a year | Natural zeolite sells at $50-300/t, so it rarely travels far. Nearly all reported US zeolite trade is synthetic. European tuff moves by road and rail to cement plants as pozzolan. | USGS MCS 2026 |
Material characteristics Industrial mineral
Natural zeolites such as clinoptilolite and chabazite are porous aluminosilicates with a cage structure that swaps cations and traps ammonia, odours and water. Their value depends on zeolite content, cation exchange capacity, particle size and whether they are heat-activated. Low-grade zeolitic tuff is sold by the tonne as pozzolan or stone; high-grade material goes to feed, odour control and water treatment.
| Property | Value / specification | Why it matters | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zeolite content | EU feed additive clinoptilolite of sedimentary origin: at least 80% clinoptilolite, at most 20% clay minerals, free of fibres and quartz | Sets whether material qualifies for animal feed, the largest US use (42%) | EU Regulation 651/2013 (indicative) |
| Cation exchange capacity | clinoptilolite roughly 1.5-2.0 meq/g (indicative) | Measures ability to hold ammonium and metals; the main quality test for farm and water uses | USGS MCS 2026 (price varies with zeolite content); value indicative |
| Particle size | graded by mesh from coarse granules to fine powder | Feed, litter, turf infill and filtration each need a specific size; price varies with size | USGS MCS 2026 |
| Activation / surface modification | heat-activated or surface-modified grades | Raises adsorption and price for desiccant and odour products | USGS MCS 2026 |
| Pozzolanic reactivity | reacts with lime from cement hydration | Lets tuff replace part of the clinker in blended cements | USGS MCS 2026 |