IMFORMED has just spent the week at the superb UNITECR 2025 in Cancun, where the global refractories community met for four days of networking, exhibits, and presentations. A wide range of refractory industry topics were under discussion including raw materials and recycling, very close to IMFORMED's heart. In addition to IMFORMED as media partner, Mike [...]
In the far north of Peru, more than 1,000km north of Lima, in the arid countryside near the port city of Paita, in Paita Province, lies an alluvial deposit of andalusite that is the world’s fourth largest producer, and one of the few independent suppliers, of the aluminosilicate refractory mineral. In December 2024, following the [...]
Anyone scanning the fluorspar supply sector right now cannot have ignored the uptick in activity and attention to mine development projects for this specialist industrial mineral. Fluorspar has recently garnered increased attention owing to it’s perceived “criticality” in Li-ion battery and semiconductor manufacture, and remains an important mainstay ingredient for production of steel, aluminium, fluorochemicals, [...]
Representing some 90 years of experience Can you spot who’s who in a recent reunion of Industrial Minerals magazine “Old Guard” in a London watering hole? Brian Coope 1970-1983 (1977-1983 Editor) Gerry Clarke 1978-1989 (1983-1987 Editor) Ted Dickson 1976-1987 (1982-1987 American Editor) Joyce Griffiths 1985-1998 (1988-1995 Editor) Mike O’Driscoll 1987-1990, 1991-2014 (1995-2012 Editor) Alison Saxby [...]
SAVE THE DATES | CALL FOR PAPERS | SPONSOR/EXHIBIT OPTIONS IMFORMED is delighted to announce its first two conferences for 2026 (please click on logos for full details): The latest trends and developments in recycling industrial minerals from a range of waste sources, including Refractories | Slags | Salts | Ash | Glass | Batteries [...]
Preparations are in full swing for the 67th International Colloquium on Refractories (ICR) taking place at the Eurogress, Aachen on 17 and 18 September 2025. As Media Partner, IMFORMED is delighted to share the latest news on this keenly awaited event, and will be participating at the exhibition – please drop by our stand for chat, [...]
As one of the Media Partners for UNITECR 2025, (the Unified International Technical Conference on Refractories), the foremost biennial event for the global refractories industry, IMFORMED is delighted to share the latest updates from the UNITECR organising committee. Save up to 40% on your participation UNITECR 2025 has announced that its Early Bird pricing has [...]
Salt Forum 2024 Review: Global supply | Pakistan | Bangladesh | Kazakhstan | EU | Solar salt | Chlor-alkali | Sodium-ion Batteries | Processing IMFORMED’s Salt Forum 2024 in Abu Dhabi November 2024 was a resounding success, bringing together the global salt market from right across the supply chain. We were absolutely delighted to host [...]
US Tariffs: minerals & markets in the line of fire Introduction to Mining Engineering IM Annual Review July 2025 by Mike O’Driscoll* There is no doubt, if any existed, that the commercial minerals world has now moved into a new era of unprecedented challenges in sourcing, mining, processing, trade and use of industrial minerals. Title [...]
Seen & Heard in Ulaanbaatar: Review of Fluorine Forum 2024 In what must rank as one of IMFORMED’s most ambitious conference venues to date, we were delighted to hold Fluorine Forum 2024 at the Shangri-La Hotel in Ulaanbaatar, 14-16 October last year. And what a success is it was, despite the relative remoteness of the [...]
