The logistics of moving minerals key to US reindustrialization

Imerys’ operations focus on mining minerals used in everyday home products, food components and industrial supply chain goods. The latter group includes carbonates, perlite, diatomaceous earth, clays and ceramics.

While some materials mined and transported by Imerys are reactive, most are benign and nonhazardous.

Reindustrialization and materials mining

Bailey said the proximity of components to where a company makes products affects cost effectiveness and competitiveness.

“Those products [that we mine components for] obviously are going to be priced by weight,” he said. “It’s a volume thing. So the closer that we can get those to those facilities, to the manufacturers, the better that we’ll be able to perform and manufacture those products.”

Operationally speaking, Imerys’ goal is to stream materials to customers effectively and on an as-needed basis – whether domestically or across national borders.

“In the inventory management world, they obviously don’t want to hold a lot more of this inventory longer than they have to,” Bailey said. “The ask for us is to make sure we’re operating in a just-in-time environment where we’re able to – whether it be by rail or truck – get the customers our products as they need them so they’re able to continue production.” 
As companies look at sourcing domestically, Bailey said the ability to meet companies’ ongoing requirements in a sustainable, environmentally friendly way is important.

“We use mine sites that will be sustainable for the long term,” he said. “So having not only the abundance of minerals for them to build their products, but also the transportation networks in place are critical for customer success.”

Other headlines and topics discussed in this episode include: 

• Eli Lilly investing $3 billion in a Kenosha County, Wisconsin, manufacturing plant for injectable medicines.
• Pharmaceutical company Amgen investing $1 billion in a manufacturing plant in Holly Springs, North Carolina, for a new GLP weight loss drug.

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