Diatomite Milling and Packaging in Nigeria

Nigeria is blessed with abundant mineral resources, which are from time immemorial formed the backbone of the nation’s economic and industrial development aspirations. Prior to independence, the nation’s mineral raw material resources contributed immensely to the export earnings of the nation.

For over three decades, the Country has continued to depend entirely on oil for her revenue and the volatile nature of the oil market has made it imperative for us to diversify the mono-product economy through exploitation and processing of our abundant solid mineral resources.

The clamour for resource control being advocated by states with petroleum resources in their domain makes it imperative for us to develop, exploit, process and utilize our solid minerals – particularly Non-metallic Minerals as every part of this country is blessed with one or more solid mineral that could yield substantial revenue for sustainable development.

Exploitation of the Non-metallic Minerals has not attained the desired level, mainly because of the various constraints associated with their exploitation, development and processing for utilization. Many of the non-metallic minerals, which are vital to the industrial take off of the country, have been found in commercial quantities within the country.

They include limestone, dolomite, marble, kaolin, barite, diatomite, feldspar, quartz and silica sands, gypsum, talc, silimanite, kyanite, phosphate, salt and bentonite.

Diatomite is siliceous sediment, which is made up of more or less entirely skeletal remains of microscopic plants (diatoms). It is a lithified low-density sediment which is made up of almost entirely opaline-silica (amorphous) remains of ditoms. It is exceptionally fine grained, incoherent and highly absorbent.

The most important use relative of high-quality diatomite is as a filtering media. In paints, diatomite alters glass and sheen, extends primary pigments, adds bulk and strength, controls permeability and enhances coating adhesion. In plastics, diatomite serves as an antiblocking agent which helps in the separation of plastic parts in manufacturing, and in the separation of plastic bags by the consumer.

Due to such characteristics as porosity and high surface area, diatomite is highly absorbent and is very useful in the clean-up of spills in the automotive, industrial, janitorial and waste remediation industries.

When insects come in contact with diatomaceous earth, it absorbs their protective wax coating and their shells are damaged by the glassy diatoms. This combination causes them to die by dehydration. There is no survival and no built-up immunity as there is with chemical insecticides. Also, it does not break down as chemicals do.

Other examples of the universe of products and uses which benefit from diatomite include dental fillings, seed coatings, roofing compounds, adhesives, sealants, matches, oil drilling compounds, specialty concretes, and paper.
This report seeks to examine the financial viability or otherwise of establishing a diatomite milling plant in Nigeria.

The demand for milled diatomite is quite high in Nigeria and the raw material is also available in commercial quantity.

The production capacity of the proposed milling plant is one point five (1.5) tons per hour and the plant would operate at eighty percent (80%) of the installed capacity for three hundred (300) working days per annum for ten (10) hours per day and producing six hundred (600) tons of milleddiatomite bi-monthly packed in fifty (50) kilogramm Polypropylene (PP) woven sacks with input output ratio of 1:0.95.