Mike O'Driscoll

About Mike O'Driscoll

Mike has over 30 years experience in the international mining and minerals industry, specialising in industrial minerals and markets, for which he is widely recognised as a leading expert. After serving 26 years at Industrial Minerals (IM) magazine – 17 years as Editor – Mike left IM in 2014 to pursue an independent career in the industrial minerals business, and launched IMFORMED in January 2015 with Ismene Clarke. Read more >

Barite oilfield market looks to recovery after 2020 impact

US output halted as overseas alternatives emerge | India expands Described as “one of the worst years in recent history” for the oilfield market, it is unsurprising that world barite production was estimated to have decreased by about 15% during 2020. Title image Digging Deep: The world's largest barite mine at Mangampet, Andhra Pradesh, India; APMDC is [...]

By |2024-03-22T05:52:14+00:00Wednesday, 21 April, 2021|Newsfile|0 Comments

Industrial minerals reach critical mass awareness – about time

Critical minerals challenge & outlook covered at IMFORMED Rendezvous 2021 ONLINE 14 April To those in the industry this is nothing new. But it is one thing for the experts to know about something important, and quite another for the wider populous and their respective governments to grasp, let alone then respond to, the key [...]

By |2024-03-22T05:52:14+00:00Tuesday, 6 April, 2021|Newsfile|0 Comments

Industrial Minerals Trading Transformation: Survival of the Fittest

Jan Weber, CEO, Possehl Erzkontor presents at the IMFORMED Rendezvous 2021 IMFORMED is delighted to announce that Jan Weber, CEO, Possehl Erzkontor GmbH & Co. KG, is to present: “Remaining valuable through dual transformation: managing to go beyond mineral trading” at the IMFORMED Rendezvous 2021 ONLINE 14 April. JUST TWO WEEKS TO GO – BOOK [...]

By |2024-03-22T05:52:14+00:00Wednesday, 31 March, 2021|Newsfile, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Industrial minerals logistics: how important is it to the supply chain?

Future trends in port logistics spotlighted at IMFORMED Rendezvous 2021 ONLINE 14 April Events in Egypt this week served to demonstrate yet again just how significant a factor logistics plays in the supply chain of industrial minerals from mine to market. Title Image The Suez Canal sees passage of 12% of the world’s trade; the [...]

By |2024-03-22T05:52:14+00:00Thursday, 25 March, 2021|Newsfile|0 Comments

Mineral industry awards presented by SME

IMFORMED Rendezvous Roundtable Host Dan Eyde receives SME Fellow Award For understandable reasons, this year’s gathering of the global minerals community at the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME)’s annual meeting (MINEXCHANGE 2021 SME Annual Conference & Expo) was an online occasion. Title Image St. Cloud Mining Co. produces 42-45,000 tpa of natural zeolites [...]

By |2024-03-22T05:52:14+00:00Wednesday, 24 March, 2021|Newsfile|0 Comments

Chinese magnesia latest: reforms in the Year of the Ox

As we enter the Chinese Year of the Ox, reports from China, so influential in global mineral supply and benchmark pricing, suggest change may well be in the air yet again for the magnesia supply sector, as well as potential disruption to supply from government controls and planned reforms. It appears that plant shutdowns and [...]

By |2024-03-22T05:52:14+00:00Monday, 8 March, 2021|Newsfile|0 Comments

Industrial minerals outlook: crucial global trends & developments

IMFORMED Rendezvous 2021 ONLINE 14 April Logistics | Critical Minerals | CO2 + Energy Challenges | Next Economic Cycle | Mineral Pricing | From Strategy to Profit | Grinding & Classifying Developments | Trading transformation For established players seeking new horizons and newcomers evaluating industrial minerals IMFORMED is delighted to announce a revised programme for the upcoming [...]

By |2024-03-22T05:52:14+00:00Monday, 1 March, 2021|Newsfile|0 Comments

Mineral recycling: New horizons in a new era

Mineral Recycling Forum 2021 ONLINE Reviewed EU Critical Minerals | Refractories | Ceramics | Graphite | Bauxite | Magnesia | Mining Waste | LIBS Sorting The latest trends and developments in recycling industrial minerals were presented and discussed at IMFORMED’s Mineral Recycling Forum 2021 ONLINE on 9 February. Title Picture Mountains of Magnesia: the serpentine [...]

By |2024-03-22T05:52:16+00:00Thursday, 25 February, 2021|Newsfile|0 Comments

Speciality magnesia markets targeted by Callista with RHIM assets buy

RHI Magnesita sells PPL & RHI Normag to private equity firm; Normag renamed Magnor Minerals It only seems very recently that RHI Magnesita (then RHI AG) was reinforcing its captive magnesia supply base with the acquisition of Premier Periclase Ltd (PPL), in the Republic of Ireland, and SMA Mineral Magnesia AS, in Norway, with the latter [...]

By |2024-03-22T05:52:16+00:00Thursday, 18 February, 2021|Newsfile|0 Comments

BPM to divest perlite business & focus on zeolite market

Unique NZ perlite operation for sale amid limited world sources Blue Pacific Minerals Ltd, New Zealand, is looking to sell its perlite extraction and processing division as it focuses on its zeolite business. Title picture: BPM’s perlite mine near Tokoroa, North Island, New Zealand, which was producing about 10,000 tpa crude ore; inset: expanded BPM [...]

By |2024-03-22T05:52:16+00:00Thursday, 28 January, 2021|Newsfile|0 Comments