The refractory dolomite market is notable for the small number of worldwide players and the material's use mainly as a captive feedstock for refractories production, which are in turn largely used in the steel industry. This has meant that the steel industry downturn of the late 1990s and the subsequent recovery in the past four or five years has been the major driver in terms of refractory dolomite production. It is worth noting that none of the global refractory dolomite producers are completely independent and focused on that product alone. Logistics and the one dominant market offer one major reason for the geographic spread of producers. Another is the scarcity of the high purity, homogeneous grain size dolomite needed to produce the minimum density after sintering. An overview of the market is given here.
