Talc is a layered silicate mineral, generally white, some doped with cyan and green, with good mechanical properties, stable chemistry, low hardness, low wear, high whiteness and other characteristics, while showing good lubricity, thermal stability, adsorption, suspension and rheology.
The different structures of talc show different characteristics, according to the performance of the good and bad, can be divided into low, medium and high three grades of products, of which low-grade talc is widely used in the papermaking filler industry; Mid-range talc has better smoothness and is suitable for primer coatings in the building materials industry; High-grade talc is often used in viscous control agent products because of its excellent properties. In China, the price of mid-range products is equal to the international market, the price of low-end products is far lower than the international market, and the price of high-end products is higher than the international market, therefore, the price positioning of China's talc in the international market does not meet the market demand, so it is not competitive, and the market share is gradually weakening.
In addition, the demand of the international market also directly affects the research and development power of deep processing and high value-added products, which restricts the development of enterprises to a certain extent. Therefore, fully expanding the product types and application fields of talc and improving the cost performance is an important direction for the development of the industry in the future, such as: in-depth research on the surface modification of talc and the comprehensive utilization of composite materials, and the development of cost-effective talc products with ultra-high performance and low cost; In addition, strengthening the research of talc in new fields such as sewage treatment and lubrication is also an important development direction.
Further development of high value-added talc products and broadening the application field (such as: titanate coupling agent modification of talc, to prepare highly elastic rubber products, etc.) is an important development direction in the future, with a history of nearly 100 years, mainly operates talc mine in southern France, which is the world's largest talc mine with a scale of 400,000 t/a. At present, the latest technology is still monopolized by developed countries, and talc is only an auxiliary filler, which can be replaced by kaolin, clay, calcium carbonate and other fillers, so that resources are allocated through the market to achieve efficient use of resources. At the same time, differential tax rates are implemented, talc export tariffs are suspended, and raw materials, primary products and deep-processed products are treated differently to improve the competitiveness of powders, increase added value and encourage the comprehensive utilization of low-end tailings. Talc is a resource-based industry, and it is necessary to establish the concept of sustainable development and protect mine resources in a reasonable and orderly mining process.