Diatomaceous rock

2022-07-15

2024

General information and occurrence

Diatomites are compact sedimentary rocks built mainly of diatom skeletons composed of the amorphous silica – opal. A closely related to them mineral raw material is siliceous earth, the loose rock. Diatomites and siliceous earth are widely used as filtration aids, absorbents for liquids, carriers for herbicides, fungicides and catalysts, thermal insulation and polishing materials. They are also used as thermal insulators and a mild abrasive. Up to the present, no typical diatomites with the SiO₂ content over 80% have been found in Poland. Therefore, in spite of differences in the origin and the mineralogical composition, siliceous earth is treated as a substitute of diatomites and siliceous earth. The Siliceous earth is discussed in a separate section of this report.

Resources and output

In the Leszczawka area (Carpathian Mts.) diatomite rocks with the SiO2 content equal 72% at the average occur in the Menillite Series of the Krosno Beds. Products obtained from this mineral raw material are of a fairly limited usability. Their major uses comprise the production of light building aggregates and carriers for herbicides and fungicides. It should be noted that technological tests indicated that an appropriate processing (grinding and calcination) may improve a quality of this raw material to that of proper diatomites.

Documented anticipated economic resources of diatomite rocks are equal slightly above 10 million tonnes. Since 2000 there has been only one deposit – Jawornik – exploited in Poland. Extraction of diatomite remains at a small scale and amounted in 2024 to 1.97 thousand tonnes.

The table below shows reserves and the state of development and exploration of diatomite rocks in Poland.

Table 1. Diatomaceous rock – million tonnes

Table 2. List of diatomaceous rock deposits – thousand tonnes

Except for the already documented deposits, there are possibilities of markedly increase the hitherto known resources of this raw material. Prospective resources of the diatomaceous rock in the Leszczawka area are estimated at about 10 million tonnes*. The chances for a discovery of new large diatomite deposits seem to be much higher in the case of the Menillite Series of the Krosno Beds in the areas of Godowa, Błażowa-Piątkowa-Harta-Bachórz and Dydnia-Krzywe (Podkarpackie Voivodeship). In the area of the diatomaceous rocks occurrence there is also the prognostic area Borek Nowy indicated as well as 4 prospective areas in the vicinities of: Futoma, Huta Poręby, Dobrzanka-Borownica and Leszczawka-Kuźmina. Unfortunately, the raw material in the documented deposits is of a quite law quality which causes only the minor entrepreneurs interest.

Prepared by: Robert Bońda

* Wołkowicz K., 2020 – ‘Kopaliny diatomitowe, diatomit (diatomaceous rock, diatomite)’. In: ‘Bilans perspektywicznych zasobów kopalin Polski wg stanu na 31.12.2018 r.’ (eds. Szamałek K., Szuflicki M., Mizerski W.): 355-358. PIG-PIB, Warszawa [in Polish].

2023

General information and occurrence

Resources and output

Documented anticipated economic resources of diatomite rocks are equal slightly above 10 million tonnes. Since 2000 there has been only one deposit – Jawornik – exploited in Poland. The extraction of diatomite remains at the small scale and amounted in 2023 to 1.62 thousand tonnes.

The table below shows reserves and the state of development and exploration of diatomite rocks in Poland.

Table 1. Diatomaceous rock – million tonnes

Table 2. List of diatomaceous rock deposits – thousand tonnes

Prepared by: Robert Bońda

2022

General information and occurrence

Resources and output

Anticipated economic resources of diatomite rocks are equal slightly above 10 million tonnes. Since 2000 there has been only one deposit – Jawornik – exploited. The extraction of diatomite remains at the small scale and amounted in 2022 to 1.17 thousand tonnes.

The table below shows reserves and the state of development and exploration of diatomite rocks in Poland.

Table 1. Diatomaceous rock – million tonnes

Table 2. List of diatomaceous rock deposits – thousand tonnes

Prepared by: Robert Bońda

2021

General information and occurrence

Diatomites are compact sedimentary rocks built mainly of diatom skeletons composed of the amorphous silica – opal. A closely related to them mineral raw material is the siliceous earth, a loose rock. Diatomites and siliceous earth are widely used as filtration aids, absorbents for liquids, carriers for herbicides, fungicides and catalysts, thermal insulation and polishing materials. They are also used as thermal insulators and a mild abrasive. Up to the present, no typical diatomites with the SiO₂ content over 80% have been found in Poland. Therefore, in spite of differences in the origin and the mineralogical composition, siliceous earth is treated as a substitute of diatomites and siliceous earth. The Siliceous earth is discussed in a separate section of this report.

Resources and output

The table below shows reserves and the state of development and exploration of diatomite rocks in Poland.

Table 1. Diatomaceous rock – million tonnes

Table 2. List of diatomaceous rock deposits – thousand tonnes

Prepared by: Robert Bońda

2020

General information and occurrence

Resources and output

The table below shows reserves and the state of development and exploration of diatomite rocks in Poland.

Table 1. Diatomaceous rock – million tonnes

Table 2. List of diatomaceous rock deposits – thousand tonnes

Prepared by: Robert Bońda

* Wołkowicz K., 2020 – ‘Kopaliny diatomitowe, diatomit’ (diatomaceous rock, diatomite). In: ‘Bilans perspektywicznych zasobów kopalin Polski wg stanu na 31.12.2018 r.’ (eds. Szamałek K., Szuflicki M., Mizerski W.): 355-358. PIG-PIB, Warszawa [in Polish].

2019

General information and occurrence

Diatomites are compact sedimentary rocks built mainly of diatom skeletons composed of the amorphous silica – opal. A closely related to them mineral raw material is siliceous earth, a loose rock. Diatomites and siliceous earth are widely used as filtration aids, absorbents for liquids, carriers for herbicides, fungicides and catalysts, thermal insulation and polishing materials. They are also used as thermal insulators and a mild abrasive. Up to the present, no typical diatomites with the SiO₂ content over 80% have been found in Poland. Therefore, in spite of differences in the origin and the mineralogical composition, siliceous earth is treated as a substitute of diatomites and siliceous earth. The Siliceous earth is discussed in a separate section of this report.

Resources and output

The table below shows reserves and the state of development and exploration of diatomite rocks in Poland.

Table 1. Diatomaceous rock – million tonnes

Table 2. List of diatomaceous rock deposits – thousand tonnes

Except of the already documented deposits, there are possibilities of markedly increase the hitherto known resources of this raw material. Prospective resources of the diatomaceous rock in the Leszczawka area are estimated at about 10 million tonnes*. The chances for a discovery of new large diatomite deposits seem to be much higher in the case of the Menillite Series of the Krosno Beds in the areas of Godowa, Błażowa-Piątkowa-Harta-Bachórz and Dydnia-Krzywe (Podkarpackie Voivodeship). In the area of the diatomaceous rocks occurrence there is also the prognostic area Borek Nowy indicated as well as 4 prospective areas in the vicinities of: Futoma, Huta Poręby, Dobrzanka-Borownica and Leszczawka-Kuźmina. Unfortunately, the raw material in the documented deposits is of a quite law quality which causes only the minor entrepreneurs interest. The shortage of the silica raw material is balanced of the import – mainly from Germany, Mexico and United States.

Prepared by: Robert Bońda

2018

Diatomites are compact sedimentary rocks built mainly of diatom skeletons composed of the amorphous silica – opal. A closely related to them mineral raw material is siliceous earth, a loose rock. Diatomites and siliceous earth are widely used as filtration aids, absorbents for liquids, carriers for herbicides, fungicides and catalysts, thermal insulation and polishing materials. They are also used as thermal insulators and a mild abrasive. Up to the present, no typical diatomites with the SiO₂ content over 80% have been found in Poland. Therefore, in spite of differences in the origin and the mineralogical composition, siliceous earth is treated as a substitute of diatomites and siliceous earth. The Siliceous earth is discussed in a separate section of this report.

In the Leszczawka area (Carpathian Mts.) diatomite rocks with the SiO₂ content equal 72% at the average occur in the Menillite Series of the Krosno Beds. Products obtained from this mineral raw material are of a fairly limited usability. Their major uses comprise the production of light building aggregates and carriers for herbicides and fungicides. It should be noted that technological tests showed that an appropriate processing (grinding and calcination) may improve a quality of this raw material to that of proper diatomites.

The table below shows reserves and the state of development and exploration of diatomite rocks in Poland.

Table 1. Diatomaceous rock – million tonnes

Table 2. List of diatomaceous rock deposits – thousand tonnes

Except of the already documented deposits, there are possibilities of markedly increase the hitherto known resources of this raw material. Perspective resources of the diatomaceous rock in the Leszczawka area are estimated at about 10 million tonnes. The chances for a discovery of new large diatomite deposits seem to be much higher in the case of the Menillite Series of the Krosno Beds in the areas of Godowa, Błażowa-Piątkowa-Harta-Bachórz and Dydnia-Krzywe (Podkarpackie Voivodeship).

Prepared by: Robert Bońda

2017

Diatomites are firm sedimentary rocks built mainly of diatom skeletons composed of the amorphous silica – opal. A closely related mineral raw material is siliceous earth, a loose rock. Diatomites and skeleton earth are widely used as a filtration aid, absorbents for liquids, carriers for herbicides and fungicides and contact agent carriers in a chemical industry. They are also used as thermal insulators and a mild abrasive. Up to the present, no typical diatomites with the SiO₂ content over 80% have been found in Poland. Therefore, in spite of differences in the origin and mineralogical composition, siliceous earth is treated as a substitute of diatomites and siliceous earth. The Siliceous earth is discussed in a separate section of this report.

In the Leszczawka area (Carpathian Mts.) diatomite rocks with the SiO₂ content equal 72% at the average occur in the Menillite Series of the Krosno Beds. Products obtained from that mineral raw material are of a fairly limited usability. Their major uses comprise the production of light building aggregates and carriers for herbicides and fungicides. It should be noted that technological tests show that an appropriate processing (grinding and calcination) may improve a quality of this raw material to that of proper diatomites.

Anticipated economic resources of diatomite rocks are equal slightly above 10 million tonnes. Since 2000 there has been only one deposit – Jawornik – exploited. In 2017 extraction of diatomite was being carried out at a small scale (0.5 thousand tonnes; Table 2).

The table below shows reserves and the state of development and exploration of diatomite rocks in Poland.

Table 1. Diatomaceous rock – million tonnes

Table 2. List of diatomaceous rock deposits – thousand tonnes

Further detailed and preliminary exploration may markedly increase the hitherto known resources of this raw material. Perspective resources of the diatomaceous rock in the Leszczawka area are estimated at about 10 million tonnes. The chances for a discovery of new large diatomite deposits seem to be the highest in the case of the Menillite Series of the Krosno Beds in the areas of Godowa, Błażowa-Piątkowa-Harta-Bachórz and Dydnia-Krzywe (Podkarpackie Voivodeship).

Prepared by: Robert Bońda

2016

Diatomites are firm sedimentary rocks mainly built of diatom skeletons composed of amorphous silica – opal. A closely related mineral raw material is diatomaceous earth, a loose rock. Diatomites and diatomaceous rocks are widely used as a filtration aid, absorbents for liquids, carriers for herbicides and fungicides and contact agent carriers in a chemical industry. They are also used as thermal insulators and a mild abrasive. Up to the present, no typical diatomites with SiO₂ content over 80% have been found in Poland. Therefore, despite of differences in origin and mineralogical composition, siliceous earth is treated as a substitute of diatomites and diatomaceous earth. The siliceous earth is discussed in a separate section of this report.

In the Leszczawka area (Carpathian Mts.) diatomite rocks with SiO₂ content equal 72% at the average occur in the Menillite Series of the Krosno Beds. Products obtained from that mineral raw material are of fairly limited usability. Their major uses comprise production of light building aggregates and carriers for herbicides and fungicides. It should be noted that technological tests show that appropriate processing (grinding and calcination) may improve a quality of this raw material to that of proper diatomites.

Anticipated economic resources of diatomite rocks equal more than 10 million tonnes. Since 2000 there has been only one deposit – Jawornik – exploited. In 2016 extraction of diatomite was being carried out at a small scale (0.5 thousand tonnes) (Table 1).

The table below shows reserves and the state of development and exploration of diatomite rocks in Poland.

Table 1. Diatomaceous rock – million tonnes

Further detailed and preliminary exploration may markedly increase the hitherto known resources of this raw material. Perspective resources of diatomaceous rock in the Leszczawka area are estimated at about 10 million tonnes. Chances for discovery of new large diatomite deposits seem to be the highest in the case of the Menillite Series of the Krosno Beds in the areas of Godowa, Błażowa-Piątkowa-Harta-Bachórz and Dydnia-Krzywe (Podkarpackie Voivodeship).

Table 2. List of diatomaceous rock deposits – thousand tonnes

Prepared by: Robert Bońda

2015

Diatomites are firm sedimentary rocks mainly built of diatom skeletons composed of amorphous silica – opal. A closely related mineral raw material is diatomaceous earth, a loose rock. Diatomites and diatomaceous rocks are widely used as a filtration aid, absorbents for liquids, carriers for herbicides and fungicides and contact agent carriers in chemical industry. They are also used as thermal insulators and a mild abrasive. Up to the present, no typical diatomites with SiO₂ content over 80% have been found in Poland. Therefore, despite of differences in origin and mineralogical composition, siliceous earth is treated as a substitute of diatomites and diatomaceous earth. The siliceous earth is discussed in a separate section of this report.

In the Leszczawka area (Carpathian Mts) diatomite rocks with SiO₂ content equal 72% at the average occur in the Menillite Series of the Krosno Beds. Products obtained from that mineral raw material are of fairly limited usability. Their major uses comprise production of light building aggregates and carriers for herbicides and fungicides. It should be noted that technological tests show that appropriate processing (grinding and calcination) may improve quality of this raw material to that of proper diatomites.

Anticipated economic resources of diatomite rocks equal more than 10 million tonnes. Since 2000 there has been only one deposit – Jawornik – exploited. In the year 2015 extraction of diatomite was being carried out at a small scale (0.60 thousand tonnes) (Table 1).

Further detailed and preliminary exploration may markedly increase the hitherto known resources of this raw material. Perspective resources of diatomaceous rock in the Leszczawka area are estimated at about 10 million tonnes. Chances for discovery of new large diatomite deposits seem to be the highest in the case of the Menillite Series of the Krosno Beds in areas of Godowa, Błażowa-Piątkowa-Harta-Bachórz and Dydnia-Krzywe (Podkarpackie Voivodeship).

Table 1. List of diatomaceous rock deposits – thousand tonnes

Prepared by: Robert Bońda

2014

Diatomites are firm sedimentary rocks mainly built of diatom skeletons composed of amorphous silica – opal. A closely related mineral raw material is diatomaceous earth, a loose rock. Diatomites and diatomaceous rocks are widely used as a filtration aid, absorbents for liquids, carriers for herbicides and fungicides and contact agent carriers in chemical industry. They are also used as thermal insulators and a mild abrasive. Up to the present, no typical diatomites with SiO₂ content over 80% were found in Poland. Therefore, despite of differences in origin and mineralogical composition, siliceous earth is treated as a substitute of diatomites and diatomaceous earth. The siliceous earth is discussed in a separate section of this report.

Anticipated economic resources of diatomite rocks equal more than 10 million tonnes. Since 2000 there has been only one deposit – Jawornik – exploited. In the year 2014, extraction of diatomite was being carried out at a small scale (0.59 thousand tonnes).

Further detailed and preliminary exploration may markedly increase the hitherto known resources of this mineral raw material. Perspective resources of diatomaceous rock in the Leszczawka area are estimated at about 10 million tonnes. Chances for discovery of new large diatomite deposits seem to be the highest in the case of the Menillite Series of the Krosno Beds in areas of Godowa, Błażowa-Piątkowa-Harta-Bachórz and Dydnia-Krzywe (Podkarpackie Voivodeship).

Table 1. List of diatomaceous rock deposits – thousand tonnes

Prepared by: Robert Bońda

2013

Diatomites are firm sedimentary rocks mainly built of diatom skeletons composed of amorphous silica – opal. A closely related mineral raw material is diatomaceous earth, a loose rock. Diatomites and diatomaceous rocks are widely used as a filtration aid, absorbents for liquids, carriers for herbicides and fungicides and contact agent carriers in chemical industry. They are also used as thermal insulators and a mild abrasive. Up to the present, no typical diatomites with SiO₂ content over 80% were found in Poland. Therefore, despite of differences in origin and mineralogical composition, siliceous earth is treated as a substitute of diatomites and diatomaceous earth. The siliceous earth is discussed in a separate section of this report.

Anticipated economic resources of diatomite rocks equal more than 10 million tonnes. Since 2000 there has been only one deposit – Jawornik – exploited. In the year 2013, extraction of diatomite was being carried out at a small scale (0.60 thousand tonnes).

The table below shows reserves and the state of development and exploration of diatomite rocks in Poland.

Table 1. Diatomaceous rock – million tonnes

Table 2. List of diatomaceous rock deposits – thousand tonnes

Prepared by: Robert Bońda

2012

Diatomites are firm sedimentary rocks mainly built of diatom skeletons composed of amorphous silica – opal. A closely related mineral raw material is diatomaceous earth, a loose rock. Diatomites and diatomaceous rocks are widely used as a filtration aid, absorbents for liquids, carriers for herbicides and fungicides and contact agent carriers in chemical industry, They are also used as thermal insulators and a mild abrasive. Up to the present, no typical diatomites with SiO₂ content over 80% were not found in Poland. Therefore, despite of differences in origin and mineralogical composition, siliceous earth is treated as a substitute of diatomites and diatomaceous earth. The siliceous earth is discussed in a separate section of this report.

Anticipated economic resources of diatomite rocks equal 10 million tonnes. In the year 2012, extraction of diatomite was being carried out at a small scale at Jawornik (0.60 thousand tonnes).

The table below shows reserves and the state of development and exploration of diatomite rocks in Poland.

Table 1. Diatomaceous rock – million tonnes

Table 2. List of diatomaceous rock deposits – thousand tonnes

Prepared by: Robert Bońda

2011

Diatomites are firm sedimentary rocks mainly built of diatom skeletons composed of amorphous silica – opal. A closely related mineral raw material is diatomaceous earth, a loose rock. Diatomites and diatomaceous rocks are widely used as a filtration aid, absorbents for liquids, carriers for herbicides and fungicides and contact agent carriers in chemical industry, They are also used as thermal insulators and a mild abrasive. Up to the present, no typical diatomites with SiO₂ content over 80% were not found in Poland. Therefore, despite of differences in origin and mineralogical composition, siliceous earth is treated as a substitute of diatomites and diatomaceous earth. The siliceous earth is discussed in a separate section of this report.

Proven economic reserves of diatomite rocks equal about 10 million tonnes. In the year 2010, extraction of diatomite was being carried out at a small scale at Jawornik. In previous years diatomite rocks were extracted from time to time also from the Kuźmina deposit but that operation was stopped in 2001.

The table below shows reserves and the state of development and exploration of diatomite rocks in Poland.

Table 1. Diatomaceous rock – million tonnes

Table 2. List of diatomaceous rock deposits – thousand tonnes

Prepared by: Robert Bońda