Talc and leucophyllite
Since 1856, the industrial minerals talc and leukophyllite, also referred to as “white clay”, have been extracted in both underground mining and open-cast mining in Austria. Talc and leukophyllite are mineral resources free for mining. The talc deposit of Rabenwald in Styria is the largest deposit of its kind in Central Europe.
With a production volume of around 124,000 tonnes in 2019, Austria ranks 14th world-wide in the list of talc and leucophyllite producers.
Due their typical physical properties, talc and leucophyllite are above all used as fillers in paper, in plastics and rubber products, in paints and varnishes, as carriers for insecticides, and as additives to ceramic bodies. The multifarious properties of talc are obvious in the fact that it used as a foam enhancer in soaps as well as in anti-corrosion protection.
The current production data for Austria and the world can be found in the Austrian Montan-Handbuch and in the international statistics on raw materials, WORLD MINING DATA