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 >

Dusseldorf Daze! GIFA-METEC 2023

A hot, intense, but fabulous time last week networking at GIFA-METEC 2023, catching up with our many clients and contacts, and making new friends in the industrial minerals, refractory, foundry, metallurgy, & trading markets. We were especially pleased to meet so many Chinese contacts who were able to travel for the first time since the pandemic lockdown [...]

By |2024-03-22T05:52:12+00:00Monday, 19 June, 2023|Newsfile|0 Comments

Fluorspar new sources go underground for the battery charge

Projects in Mongolia & Germany | Updates from USA, Canada, Italy, Kenya, Australia World fluorspar production capacity remains tight, with few, if any, new production capacities ready to come on-stream any time soon. However, there are some very interesting projects in the pipeline. Title Image Feeling their way underground: (left) Examining fluorite veins at KHD [...]

By |2024-03-22T05:52:12+00:00Thursday, 25 May, 2023|Newsfile|0 Comments

Mineral recycling radiates in Dubrovnik | Mineral Recycling Forum 2023 Review

Industrial Minerals | Refractories | Li-ion Batteries | Construction Materials | Fertiliser | LIBS Springtime in Dubrovnik? It must be time for IMFORMED’s Mineral Recycling Forum 2023! And indeed it was, with close to 100 international delegates attending from across the industrial mineral recycling supply chain. Title Image Sun, Sea & Recycling: Another successful Mineral Recycling [...]

By |2024-03-22T05:52:12+00:00Thursday, 18 May, 2023|Newsfile|0 Comments

Challenge & change in the world of speciality aluminas – the view from Almatis

IMFORMED interviews Anıl Sönmez, Chief Executive Officer, Almatis Almatis is the market leader in speciality alumina products and solutions for the high performance refractory, ceramic, polishing and speciality markets. In April 2023, IMFORMED interviewed Almatis CEO, Anıl Sönmez, to catch up with recent developments and to assess how the company has responded to recent challenges, [...]

By |2024-03-22T05:52:12+00:00Tuesday, 25 April, 2023|Newsfile|0 Comments

Salt market to grow as new sources & challenges face industry

Review of IMFORMED’s inaugural Salt Forum 2022 Hamburg In response to market demand, IMFORMED launched its inaugural Salt Forum in Hamburg last year at the Grand Elysée Hotel, 15-17 November. And what a success it turned out to be! The event drew leading international players and experts from across the salt industry spectrum to present, [...]

By |2024-03-22T05:52:12+00:00Friday, 21 April, 2023|Newsfile|0 Comments

Fluorspar market outlook | View from Vietnam

Fluorine Forum 2022 Review | Seen & Heard in Hanoi All good things come to those who wait. And for Fluorine Forum to take place in Hanoi, Vietnam we had to wait three years, but we got there – and it was definitely worth waiting for! What an occasion it was: record attendance, excellent presentations, fantastic [...]

By |2024-03-22T05:52:12+00:00Tuesday, 21 March, 2023|Uncategorized|0 Comments

SME 2023 Denver spotlights minerals for the green economy

It was great to be back at the SME Annual Conference & “MINEXCHANGE” Expo in Denver after a five-year absence, catching up with friends, making new contacts, and taking the pulse of the North American minerals industry. From 26 February to 1 March 2023 >6,500 attendees participated in >120 technical sessions and visited MINEXCHANGE 2023, [...]

By |2024-03-22T05:52:12+00:00Tuesday, 14 March, 2023|Newsfile|0 Comments

Mineral Market Matrix 2nd Edition 2023

OUT NOW! IMFORMED’s unique Mineral Market Matrix® Wall Chart At a glance guide: which minerals for which markets New edition March 2023 Active in the industrial minerals supply chain? Whether exploring, financing, mining, processing, trading, distributing, transporting, developing, buying or using industrial minerals the Mineral Market Matrix® will be an invaluable reference tool. One of the key features [...]

By |2024-03-22T05:52:12+00:00Monday, 20 February, 2023|Newsfile|0 Comments

Magnesia Market Review: coming out the other side stronger

Seen & Heard at MagForum 2022 Noordwijk Last year the magnesia industry brushed off the pandemic blues by gathering for a glorious few days at Noordwijk on the Dutch coast to attend IMFORMED’s MagForum 2022, 7-9 June 2022. And what a few days it was! Outstanding networking after so many Zoom meetings, and an excellent [...]

By |2024-03-22T05:52:12+00:00Wednesday, 25 January, 2023|Newsfile|0 Comments

Oilfield minerals market outlook & 2022 review

Barite | Bauxite | Frac sand | Leonardite | Logistics | Sourcing | China | Morocco | Mexico The New Year rise of oil prices should come as some reassurance to suppliers of industrial minerals to the oilfield market, having faced headwinds and depressing news over the last three years or so. But there are mixed [...]

By |2024-03-22T05:52:12+00:00Wednesday, 11 January, 2023|Newsfile|0 Comments