Naturally occurring minerals are mainly used in the food industry as additives or processing aids. The use of calcium carbonate as additive E170(i), calcium sulfate as E516(i) and talc as the additive E553b, is allowed by European Union.

MIVICO produces these additives or processing aids by high purity stones. The extremley quality of the raw materials we use, makes them be over than chemistry specifications the normative demands.

In the water purification, the usage of calcium carbonate or dolomite is well-known because of several purposes. It is used for adjusting on an economical way the pH value of water which many times goes down due to floculants. Calcium carbonate is also used to precipitate the fluorine and reduce its concentration in water.

A very important usage is also the remineralisation of water after the reverse osmosis process in water purification.

From MIVICO, many products are employed in cosmetics and personal cleanliness products. Due to the huge purity of the minerals are milled in our company, we pass any quality requirements which is demand for this usage. We comply with the biological, chemical and physical needs for this kind of industry.

In paints, we speak of fillers as the inert micronised minerals which are used to thicken the film suport its structure and increase the volumen of paint. Depending on the filler is used, the final features of the paints are different.

Paint manufacturers know the fillers properties. Chemistry composition and pH are decisive in the affinity with the dispersions and the outdoor and biological resistance. The differents particle size in fillers is important talking about rheology, compactness and porosity of paints. The particle shape is also something to be considered; laminar fillers are better in extender usages than the nodular ones.

MIVICO makes different naturally ocurring fillers, from the finest size to the not so fine, coming from different minerals so the paint manufacturers can get the wanted features in paints.

Some minerals like calcium carbonate or talc, are common fillers for the plastics industry. Because mineral fillers are cheaper than the polymer, they are used to reduce the cost. However, the advantages are not only economical. Mineral fillers provide the plastic materials a greater rigidity, they improve the thermal resistance in platics and they have a better stability and density.

MIVICO produces mineral fillers for plastics manufacturers. They are available for thermoplastics, thermoset plastics or elastomers, and they give a greater opacity, strength and stability to the final product.

From MIVICO we also supply natural mineral fillers for paper and paperboard industry. The most obvious advantage is the cost reduction since we are talking about a cheaper material than cellulose. Anyway, it is not only beneficial because of the price, but it also improve the quality of the final product. It reduces the gaps between the fibers, getting a paper with a more uniform and opaque surface and controlling the levels of brightness and whiteness.

Due to having mineral fillers which come from different raw materials, MIVICO offers a flexible response to the paper industry requirements.

The addition of stabilisers to the glass try to offset the negative effect produced by the addition of alkali ions used as flux and to repair the lattice damage caused by these ones. Some of the stablizing oxides are the alkaline earth oxides (Ca and Mg). Its double positive charge gives them a firm grip in the crystal lattice, of this way it reduces the movement of the alkali ions. It means less electrical conductivity of glasses and a better resistance to acid attack.

MIVICO supplies calcium carbonate, dolomite, and barite in different particle sizes as high quality sources of calcium, magnesium and barium oxide for glass industry.

The different nature of mineral fillers in the ceramic industry, gives several very benecial properties to the final product. Of this way, the presence of calcium carbonate in the making process increase the crystal lattice concentration, which means a higher porosity and a lower moisture expansion. Mineral fillers also add very energetic fluxes to reduce the melting point. The addition of talc in particular, enhance some problems like the formation of caliche.

MIVICO has a wide range of mineral fillers from different nature but high quality and purity which are used in the ceramic sector.

In the industry of adhesives, glues and sealants, calcium carbonate has always been known as a filler, a filler that allowed lower costs.

Now the use of calcium carbonate is open to other functional properties because of market requirements, such as a better mechanical strength, better rheology of the adhesive and excellent superficial features.

The use of naturally occurring minerals for the production of fertilizers, manure or by direct implementation on the soil is well known because of its benefits. The contribution of secondary macronutrients (calcium, magnesium and sulfur) is very important for the proper growth of plants and avoid harmful diseases or disorders.

Another point is the use of these products to adjust pH levels of soils or the removal of sodic soils. We can not either forget that the opacity and covering features of these fillers are very interesting for the shading of greenhouses.

In addition to fertilizers, they also work as an anticaking and dispersing agent.

Minerals are involved in many essential functions for the correct animal growth and development and its deficiency can lead to bad health conditions, worse production and the consequent econimic losses. MIVICO supplies minerals of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium and chlorine which control and participate in multiple functions such as milk production, egg shell formation or the correct development of bones in young animals.

But they are not only used for the nutritional value, but to get the animal food with better final features, mainly to avoid an excessive clumping.

Another usage is the improvement of the hygienic conditions in the facilities where cattle lives.

For all these different functions, MIVICO produces and supplies high quality and purity naturally occurring minerals, in order to satisfy our most exigent customers.