About us

Advanced technologies, high quality standards, continuous development of the scientific base and qualified specialists are the key success factors of Bentonite Group of Companies, the leader in bentonite mining and processing in Russia and the CIS, as well as one of the world’s top 5 bentonite producers.

The Group has 14 production and trading companies and 2 institutes located in Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.

Raw material base includes 10 deposits of bentonite clay and 1 of limestone, total reserves of bentonite amount to 80 million tonnes. Sales of bentonite products exceed 800,000 tonnes per year. In order to ensure bentonite extraction and processing, which is possible only in the warm period, production capacities exceed the sales volume twofold – 1.5 million tonnes of products per year in year-round mode.

How it all began

Bentonites are fine clays consisting of at least 70% montmorillonite or other minerals from the smectite group. Due to the unique properties of these minerals, including excellent rheological characteristics, high binding capacity and adsorption activity, bentonite has wide application in many industries.

Due to natural specifics, bentonites occurring on the territory of Russia were not characterised by a high content of montmorillonite, so in the Soviet period key consumers purchased raw materials from deposits in Transcaucasia, Central Asia and Ukraine. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, supplies ceased, and Russian consumers had to use either expensive foreign or domestic low-quality raw materials. High-quality bentonite was imported from Greece, Bulgaria and India. Against this background, in 1999 the Scientific Production Company Bentonite LLC (hereinafter referred to as SPC Bentonite) was established with an ambitious task to provide the market with quality bentonite. And it has been accomplished.

Russian assets

The first production enterprise – Argillit LLC – was established in 1999 in the Republic of Khakassia, on the basis of the bentonite deposit 10th Khutor. Within two years, technological lines for clay activation and clay powder production were built, and in 2003 was launched the second plant for bentonite granules production. In 2014, Argillit LLC merged with its competitor Khakass Bentonite OJSC, which was developing other formations of the same deposit, resulting in a new powerful enterprise – Bentonite of Khakassia LLC. The merger allowed for maximum optimisation of clay processing and production of products of various types and modifications. Today this enterprise is unrivalled in the CIS in terms of capacity.

In 2001, Bentonite OJSC (now Bentonite of Kurgan LLC) which held a licence to use the subsoil of the Zyrianskoye deposit but had no processing capacity was acquired in Kurgan Region. In the shortest time the Group built the plant from the zero cycle, in May 2002 the first foundation was laid, in November 2003 activated clay was already being produced, and in September 2004 the bentonite powder and granules production lines became operational. Over time, the company launched production of powders for horizontal directional drilling (HDD) with enhanced technological properties, which substituted imported products for Moscow and St. Petersburg metro construction. Dozens of tunnels and metro stations were built using Kurgan clay.

It should be noted that bentonite mining and processing have many complicating factors. Even at the stage of quarry development it is necessary to take into account a wide range of bentonite products with diverse quality requirements. At the same time bentonite clay extraction is complicated by the complex geological structure of deposits, low thickness and high variability of quality of formations. That is why the enterprises of Bentonite Group of Companies carry out a detailed study of deposits before the start of mining operations. Bentonite is extracted exclusively by selective method with distribution of raw materials by applications. To ensure the specific requirements of each customer, constant quality control is carried out at all production stages.

Another clay processing facility Glinopererabotka LLC was organised in the Bryansk region. For this purpose, the property complex of the expanded clay plant was purchased, which in two years was converted into bentonite granules production. The plant became the main production enterprise of the pet business, and in 2005 produced the first packs of clumping cat litter.

In order to diversify its business, in 2006 the company acquired JSC Ilsky Zavod Utyazhelitel – NPO Burenie (now JSC Krasnodar Plant of Industrial Minerals, hereinafter referred to as KZPM), its history dates back to the mid-50s of the past century. In different periods, the enterprise produced iron ore weighting agents, clay powders from local clays for Kuban oil workers, special cements for plugging high-temperature and ultra-deep wells, and barite weighting agents for drilling muds. The Group launched the production of mineral powder from carbonate rocks for road construction and limestone flour for fodder production.

Foreign assets

Further progressive development required expansion of the raw material base, and search for sources of clay raw materials with a high content of the main rock-forming mineral – montmorillonite. A significant event for Bentonite Group of Companies was the establishment in 2006 of the joint venture AzRosPromInvest LLC on the basis of the Dash-Salakhly natural sodium bentonite deposit with a montmorillonite content of up to 85%. In the shortest possible time and at its own expense, the Group started the design and construction of the bentonite powder plant, and in 2007, with the participation of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and members of the government, the plant was inaugurated.

In addition to direct financial investments in the construction of the plant, Bentonite Group transferred sales volumes in the Russian market to the joint venture, shared scientific and technical developments with the new partner, and actively trained local specialists.

In 2016, the raw material base of Bentonite Group was reinforced by the Tagansky deposit located in Kazakhstan. The clays of this deposit are unique, and in terms of their qualitative characteristics surpass all the world’s clays: they have the highest content of montmorillonite up to 80-98%, special purity, excellent sorbing, binding and rheological characteristics. When Altai Minerals LLP (now Tagbent LLP) became part of Bentonite Group, the Group built a technological activation line and a drying and grinding complex for production of bentonite powders.

Key areas of bentonite application

Bentonite Group of Companies produces a large list of products for the bentonite market, which are used in many applications and industries.

Bentonite is used as a binding additive in the preparation of iron ore raw materials for metallurgical processing. It is most commonly used in the production of iron ore pellets.

It is also used as a binder in moulding mixtures in the manufacture of foundry moulds for the production of parts from all types of ferrous and non-ferrous alloys.

Bentonite is a highly dispersed gel-forming base for drilling fluids for construction of oil and gas, geological exploration and other wells, as well as tunnels and crossings, including for horizontal directional drilling.

In construction, bentonite is used for waterproofing in the construction of foundations and protective screens, in the construction of hydroelectric power plants, tunnelling, including for subways, as well as in the composition of injection mixtures for the restoration of waterproofing in the ground. Bentonite is a component of waterproofing material – geosynthetic clay liner (GCL).

Bentonite is successfully used at nuclear industry facilities in projects of radioactive waste disposal (RWD) and conservation of nuclear, radiation-hazardous facilities (NRHF) for long-term waterproofing protection of the environment.

In agriculture bentonite is used as a feed additive for sorption of mycotoxins and replenishment of mineral substances in animals, as well as a dehumidifier, for disinfection, etc. Bentonite is used in the wine industry.

In winemaking it is used for clarification of must and wine materials from protein turbidity, as well as their stabilisation and removal of undesirable aromas.

In pharmaceuticals, bentonite is a natural sorbent with the ability to sorb all kinds of toxins, including allergens and heavy metals, which allows it to be used for poisoning, heartburn and gastrointestinal disorders.

Thanks to the property of bentonite to quickly clump, it is successfully used in the production of cat litter, their owners have long appreciated the advantages of clumping cat litter for its economical consumption (it does not require complete replacement as for example absorbent cat litters).

One of the new Projects for Bentonite Group is the production of organobentonite, which is organically modified bentonite used in the oilfield service and paint industry.

Within the Group’s structure there is a protective coatings business line, which differs from the main profile and is not related to bentonite. This division is engaged in the development and production of innovative polymer coating systems for corrosion protection of oil and gas, fuel and energy and construction facilities.