Produced from our Dragon Mine Deposit in the United States, Halloysite is an aluminosilicate clay from the Kaolinite family exhibiting a rare, naturally occurring hollow nanotubular structure. Halloysite tubes have a length in the range of 0.5 - 3.0 microns, an exterior diameter in the range of 50 - 70 nanometers and an internal diameter (lumen) in the range of 15 - 30 nanometers. Halloysite is a non-toxic and biocompatible material.

As an advanced functional filler in composites, Halloysite is naturally exfoliated because of its tubular shape and uniform surface charge. As a result, Halloysite disperses easily in various thermoplastic and thermoset resins at loadings as high as 35.0%. This is a major advantage over layered silicate clays that must undergo a complex and costly chemical procedure to exfoliate the layers prior to dispersing into the resin matrix. Halloysite composites exhibit not only high stiffness but also higher tensile and flex strength, all with a lower density and retained toughness. Benefits in thermal stability and fire retardancy are also achieved through an increase in decomposition temperature, reduction in peak heat release rate, and improvement in char density. Applied Minerals has conducted extensive application testing in this field and offers customers its proprietary patent-pending method for the preparation of polymer composites for use in a range of applications.

As a carrier of active ingredients, the tubular nature of the Halloysite enables a product to maintain uniform and sustained release rates of an active agent, thereby reducing application frequency and initial overdosage. Release rates can be controlled through selection of tube diameter, length, and encapsulation. This increased efficiency of application reduces the amount of active agent needed to achieve desired results, translating into significant cost savings and environmental responsibility.