Formerly Georgia Industrial Minerals, SEPM is the only muscovite mica facility that mines, processes, and grinds micaeous ores from sedimentary deposits. The area that is mined was once a Coastal Plain that collected large volumes of sediment of weathered igneous and metamorphic rocks that were deposited in this Coastal Plain many years ago. Subsequent leaching by ground water over the years dissolved the trace impurities in these sedimentary deposits and the results are very white individual flakes of mica that easily delaminate into very thin mica flakes with excellent slip and sheen. They are capable of producing a large family of muscovite mica products, including wet ground, dry ground, micronized and flake muscovite mica products.
These micas are used where reinforcement, lubricity, and barrier properties are desired. They also find homes where lower bulk density (more platelets per weight), better slip, increased coverage and higher luster are desired. High aspect ratio mica imparts such benefits as increased film strength, barrier properties, anti -shrink, check, and sag in coatings; In polymers it increases tensile and flexural modulus, decreases heat distortion, shrinkage, UV degradation and warpage.
Tradenames
CD Products
These mica flakes are typically very fine and require minimum grinding. All of these products are wet ground.
SG Products Very similar to the CD products and are mainly offsets to dry ground products.
OPTIfine Products This family of wet ground products is an upgraded version of the CD wet ground product family. Feed options provide the opportunity to modify characteristics like surface area, physical properties of mica-filled plastics, color, and others. The particle size distribution can also be modified by removing the coarse end of the distribution, or the fine end of the distribution, depending on what is required.
GIMsheen Products This premium family of products is wet ground from premium mica feed. In addition to being very high purity products, these products normally have custom particle size distributions for special applications.
Application Areas
Coatings
Roof Coatings, Foundry Coatings, Mold releases, Asphalt products, Asbestos replacement, High temp coatings, Industrial primers, Exterior coatings, Marine coatings, Coatings, Underbody coatings,
Construction
Adhesives, Sealants, Caulks, Sound Deadening, Joint Compound, Joint Tape Systems, Pipe Joint Compound, Asbestos replacement
Ceramics
Refractories
Cosmetics
Foundations, Eye Shadows, Face Powders, Lipsticks, Nail Polishes
Plastics
Engineering Resins, Wire & cable, Films, Plastisols
Rubber
Gaskets, Rubber dusting
