B & CM

PRESENTATION

In December 2006 SOKA created the company “Broyage et Calcination de Mineraux “ with head office in Saint-Brieuc.

The objective is to exploit the calcining plant located in Viviez, in the department of Aveyron, to produce calcined china clays and other calcined minerals.

Until now, Soka calcined kaolins were produced externally by a subcontractor from extracted and refined noodle processed in our Quessoy plant.

The acquired plant, allows higher quality products to be manufactured, thanks to a plant, which is adapted for china clay and light coloured fillers. This permits:

• to improve the whiteness through a calcining cycle adapted for china clay
• the reduction in the iron content as a result of using ceramic grinding media.

Furthermore SOKA has increased its technical expertise as a result of the recruitment of personnel who possess a vast experience in calcining minerals.

LOCALISATION

The plant Broyage et Calcination de Minéraux (B&CM) is located in Viviez, some 50km from Rodez, not far from the Decazeville basin, a region with a long industrial tradition on the lines of those like Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse or Bordeaux and also Northern Spain and Italy.

VIVIEZ’S FACTORY AERIAL VIEWS

vue aérienne B&CM

vue aérienne B&CM

THE OVEN OF CALCINATION

The china clay is introduced to the kiln in powder form, in order to have as uniform a grain size as possible.

The calcining is undertaken in a 25m long rotary kiln having a diameter of 1.20m, which has recently been modernised.

The capacity of this kiln is around 10 000 tonnes per annum. A second kiln could also be modernised in the future to accommodate an eventual increase in capacity.

THE GRINDING

At the exit of the calciner, the product is ground to de-agglomerate the product. In order to assure a grain size to meet customer needs, we have a ball mill with ceramic lining to maintain the whiteness of the product and to avoid any metallic contamination from the grinding equipment.