What we're seeing in
minerals and specialities
Written by the people who source and specify the material — for formulators, technical buyers and plant managers. No product pitches disguised as articles.
What distribution becomes next
Our industry still runs on three separate copies of the same order. The distributor of the next decade will not sell tonnes with a service wrapper — it will sell certainty, on shared infrastructure. Here is what we are building towards.
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Supply chain security is a specification now, not a promise
Every supplier says they are reliable. Almost none of it is written down. The clauses, stock policies and sourcing structures that actually make availability contractual rather than aspirational.
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Second sourcing, done properly
Everyone intends to dual-source. The programmes that actually exist share a structure: criticality scoring, real qualification, pre-agreed formulation adjustments and an annual cadence. Here is the structure.
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Local stock, consignment and VMI: who actually owns the inventory
Availability is bought, not promised, and there are four different ways to buy it. Each one puts the working capital, the obsolescence risk and the planning effort in a different place.
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CBAM has started. What it means if you import minerals
The definitive regime began on 1 January 2026. Who has to register, the 50-tonne threshold, how certificates are priced, and why the identity of the importer of record is now a commercial decision.
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Reading between the lines of a mineral CoA
Two grades can share a d50 and behave nothing alike in your mill. Which numbers on a certificate of analysis actually predict performance, which are there for the file, and what to ask for instead.
Read more →Longer form, from the people who do the work
Reserved for deeper technical papers and market studies — the pieces worth downloading rather than skimming. Each one will carry a named author, from our own team or from one of our principals.
Filler selection guide: waterborne architectural coatings
A working guide to extender choice across PVC ranges, with the trade-offs between opacity, sheen and scrub resistance set out side by side.
Halogen-free flame retardancy: a formulator's decision tree
Where ATH ends and magnesium hydroxide begins, what each does to processing, and how EU requirements are shifting the boundary.
European mineral supply outlook
An annual read on origins, energy cost, freight and quarry consolidation, and what it means for a plant buying in Western Europe.
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