About Southeastern Performance Minerals

Processing Facilities

Southeastern Performance Minerals, LLC acquired the plant production assets of Georgia Industrial Minerals in June of 2015. GIM started production in 1995 to recover sand from the sedimentary ores that contained mica, sand, and clay. Very quickly it was realized that considerable mica had to be removed in order to upgrade the sand products. The emphasis was shifted from sand to mica and the patented technology was developed and implemented. Since 1997 this facility has been dedicated to improving the recovery of muscovite mica. During this time, several plant expansions were implemented to increase mica capacity and add new mica products.

SEPM is capable of producing a large family of muscovite mica products, including wet ground, dry ground, micronized and flake muscovite mica products. After the SEPM acquisition, a family of muscovite mica products was introduced based on imported mica from India and Brazil.  This gives SEPM the ability to cover the full range of mica products that have traditionally been used for in the market place.

Southeastern Primary Minerals located in Dearing, Georgia employs a patented pulverization and separation technology to produce dry processed kaolin from both sedimentary and primary clay deposits.

Geology of Deposits

Southeastern Performance Minerals, LLC is the only muscovite mica facility that mines, processes, and grinds micaceous 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.

Southeastern Primary Minerals mines primary kaolin deposits near the processing plant in Dearing, Georgia. These deposits were first explored in the 80’s by owner David Avant. These deposits are composed of in situ granite that has been deeply weathered by ground water and the feldspar component has been transformed to kaolin. This unique weathering environment along with no subsequent erosion and transportation produces a kaolin product that is extremely coarse particle size and low in iron and titanium compared to the highly exploited sedimentary kaolin in middle Georgia. The products produced from these deposits competes very favorably with kaolin produced in England, Germany and France.  This gives SPM a logistical advantage for consumers in North and South America. Both processing facilities are fortunate to be located in Middle Georgia where about 60% of the world's output of kaolin clay is produced, and where the mining industry is highly respected, appreciated and encouraged by local citizens.