Leaders in China's pulp and papermaking industry point out that talc, one of the three crucial mineral raw materials indispensable to modern papermaking in our country, will still hold a dominant position in paper fillers within the next five years.
According to the information provided, over 50% of China's talc for papermaking is used in the paper industry, making it a significant traditional white mineral raw material with a high consumption rate. The estimated consumption in the past two years has been around 1.3 million tons, primarily used as a filler in papermaking, a resin adsorbent, and in small quantities for paper coating pigments. The main technical significance of talc for papermaking in China, where it is extensively used, remains as a filler, differing from that in developed countries abroad.
Currently, over 95% of papermaking fillers in Europe and America use calcium carbonate. High-quality paper-grade talc is more expensive and primarily used as a functional material, such as leveraging the lubricating properties of paper-grade talc to enhance the smoothness of paper and improve production operability. In the past, 50-60% of China's exported paper-grade talc was used for papermaking fillers. Due to price issues, in recent years, the papermaking industry in Asia has begun transitioning to neutral paper, resulting in an average 30% decrease in the market share of paper-grade talc in Asian fillers.
Someone predicts that over the next 10 years, with the widespread adoption of calcined papermaking technology, especially driven by production techniques, the usage of talc in papermaking fillers will significantly increase. However, within the next 5 years, talc for papermaking will still maintain its primary position as a paper material.