Today's mineral products industry

Today’s mineral products industry is one of the UK’s biggest in its own right - but it also supports even larger sectors like construction and manufacturing in business. The MPA’s interests span the key non-energy minerals - aggregates, asphalt, cement, concrete, lime, mortar, silica sand and slag. Together, they add up to £5 billion worth of materials that are essential to the UK economy.

With the addition of The British Precast Concrete Federation (BPCF), the MPA has a growing membership of 430 companies and is the sectoral voice for mineral products. Between them, MPA members produce all of Britain’s cement output, 90 per cent of its aggregates, 95 per cent of its asphalt and ready-mixed concrete and 70% of precast concrete production.

Downline from the main products are a myriad of less obvious ones that are derived from minerals. You only have to look around your home, for example, to discover that silica sand is a key ingredient in glass and in casts for ironware; gypsum is used to make plasterboard; china clay and ball clay give us ceramics, tableware and sanitaryware. Minerals (in the form of limestone) are even responsible for toothpaste! If you want to know more about specific products that are the remit of the Mineral Products Association, you may like to visit our associated websites for: cement, marine aggregates, silica sand, asphalt, agricultural lime, industrial lime, ready-mixed concrete, mortar. More information on the development of the modern market for concrete is available from The Concrete Centre

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