Global Mica Market Will Reach $727 Million by 2025

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The global mica market was $567 million in 2018 and is expected to reach around $727 million by 2025, at a CAGR of 3.6% between 2019 and 2025.

Mica is a shiny silicate mineral structured with a layer of granite and other rocks or crystals. Highly translucent, tough, stable, durable, and electrical resistant are the advanced properties of mica, which makes it widely used in several applications across various industries. The global mica market is projected to witness the highest growth over the forecast timeline, owing to the surging mica applications in the electronics industry. Mica is an important compound for the electronics industry due to its chemical, physical, and electrical properties, perfect cleavage, flexibility, elasticity, low electrical and thermal conductivity, and high dielectric strength. Additionally, mica is widely used in electronic consumer goods, such as hairdryers, toasters, LED lights, other lighting equipment, smoke detectors, and acoustic guitars. Moreover, rapid industrialization in emerging countries of China, India, and Brazil is likely to propel the mica applications in the construction industry. However, due to the stringent environmental regulations and fluctuating mica prices may hamper the global mica market in the future.

The global mica market is divided based on type, grade, and end-use industry. Based on type, the global mica market is classified into natural and synthetic mica. The natural mica segment dominated the global mica market in 2018, due to the increased use of natural mica in paint and coating, construction, and electronics industries. Moreover, synthetic mica is expected to show the highest CAGR, around 3.9%, in terms of volume.

By grade, the mica market is fragmented into the ground, sheet, and built-up mica. Ground mica is the largest contributing grade segment of the global mica market. In 2018, ground mica contributed around 50% revenue share to the global mica market. Ground mica is widely used in the construction industry as fillers in joint compound, to avoid cracks in gypsum plasterboards and protect walls from moisture.

The end-use industry segment includes construction, electrical and electronics, cosmetics and personal care, paint and coating, and others. The electrical and electronics industry is projected to be the most dominating in the market in the upcoming years. Insulators, capacitors, and resistors are mounted on printed circuit boards (PCBs), all of which contain mica. The paint and coating industry is projected to grow at the fastest pace in the upcoming years with a CAGR of around 3.6%.

In 2018, the Asia Pacific region dominated the global mica market. China is the major mica producer, importer, and exporter of the region. Moreover, rapid economic developments, flourishing construction industry in developing countries of India, China, Indonesia, South Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam and the rising mica usage in the automotive industry are further expected to enhance the use of mica, thereby, propelling the mica market growth in the region. Additionally, the rising mica demand in the novel paint technology is expected to offer lucrative growth opportunities in the years ahead.

The North American mica market is projected to grow significantly over the next few years, owing to the rising mica application in electronic consumer goods. Additionally, mica is also used in capacitors for calibration standards and as a dielectric in capacitors, which will further enhance the use of mica. The U.S. is a major contributor to this regional market due to the rising mica demand for personal care products.

The European mica market is anticipated to grow moderately over the forecast time period, owing to the growing mica application across industries like plastic, paints and coatings, cosmetics, electronics, and rubber. Moreover, the rising mica consumption by the automotive industry is one of the prime factors fuelling the mica market in Europe. Mica is widely used to produce bitumen foils, which are applied to the inner vehicle frame structures to reduce the impact of vibrations. The UK and Germany are major mica users, due to the presence of a large number of automotive manufacturers.

The Latin American mica market is projected to grow rapidly over the next few years, owing to the increasing mica usage in construction, automotive, and electronics industries Brazil is the leading producer and consumer of mica in the region.

The Middle Eastern and African mica market is estimated to grow substantially, owing to the growing regional demand for paints and coatings and electronic products. Moreover, the rising demand for personal care has also propelled mica demand, which will enhance market growth. Mica is widely used in products like cosmetics and toothpaste for shiny and glittery appearance. Additionally, mica is also used in the oil well drilling application. In the rubber industry, ground mica is used as an inert filler and as mold release compound in the manufacturing of molded rubber products, like roofing and tires.

Some key manufacturers operating in the global mica market are BASF Catalysts, Daruka Minerals, Premier Mica Company, Santa Fe Gold, Mica Manufacturing, Cogebi, Gunpatroy, Asheville-Schoonmaker Mica, Cleveland Mica Company, Franklin Industrial Minerals, and Imerys.