SODIUM SULFATE (Data in thousand metric tons, unless noted) Domestic Production and Use: The domestic natural sodium sulfate industry consisted of two producers operating a total of two plants in California and Texas. Total production of natural and synthetic sodium sulfate increased an estimated 24% compared with that of the previous year. Approximately 44% of total production was a byproduct from facilities that manufacture rayon and various chemicals. The total value of sodium sulfate sold was an estimated $50 million. End uses of sodium sulfate were soap and detergents, 40%; pulp and paper, 25%; textiles, 19%; glass, 5%; and miscellaneous, 11%. Salient Statistics--United States: 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995e/ Production: Natural 354 337 327 298 325 Synthetic1/ 366 216 210 166 250 Imports for consumption 157 158 163 190 170 Exports 103 155 89 65 70 Consumption, apparent (natural and (synthetic) 778 544 616 597 675 Price: Quoted, sodium sulfate (100% Na2SO4), bulk, f.o.b. works, East, dollars per short ton 114.00 114.00 114.00 114.00 114.00 Average sales value (natural source), f.o.b. mine or plant, dollars per metric ton 87.34 91.79 76.53 81.25 84.00 Stocks, producer, yearend, natural 35 47 42 34 34 Employment, well and plant 240 240 240 240 240 Net import reliance2/ as a percent of apparent consumption 7 E 13 22 15 Recycling: There was some recycling of sodium sulfate by consumers, particularly in the pulp and paper industry, but no recycling by sodium sulfate producers. Import Sources (1991-94): Canada, 95%; Mexico, 4%; and other, 1%. Tariff: Item Number Most favored nation (MFN) Non-MFN3/ 12/31/95 12/31/95 Disodium sulfate: Saltcake (crude) 2833.11.1000 Free Free. Other 2833.11.5000 0.4% ad val. 3.6% ad val. Anhydrous 2833.11.5010 0.4% ad val. 3.6% ad val. Other 2833.11.5050 0.4% ad val. 3.6% ad val. Depletion Allowance: 14% (Domestic), 14% (Foreign). For natural only. Government Stockpile: None. Prepared by Dennis S. Kostick, (703) 648-7715. SODIUM SULFATE Events, Trends, and Issues: Demand for powdered laundry detergents in Mexico increased, causing Mexican producers of natural sodium sulfate to export less material to the United States. This resulted in more U.S. supply being distributed in domestic markets rather than imported material. Soap and detergent manufacturers reformulated certain detergents using additional quantities of sodium sulfate that possibly substituted for higher priced zeolites and surfactants in powdered formulations. This trend is opposite of what had been occurring as superconcentrates and liquid detergents had been growing and displacing the less-expensive powdered rivals for about the past 7 years. A new battery acid recycling operation that recovers byproduct sodium sulfate began production at Columbus, GA. The plant had an annual capacity of about 30,000 tons of sodium sulfate. Two other battery recyclers in New York and Louisiana were scheduled to come on-stream in 1996, with 25,000 tons and 15,000 tons of capacity, respectively. World Production, Reserves, and Reserve Base: Production Reserves4/ Reserve base4/ Natural 1994 1995e/ United States 298 325 860,000 1,400,000 Argentina 10 10 NA NA Canada 312 300 84,000 270,000 Iran 280 290 NA NA Mexico 500 550 170,000 230,000 Spain 600 600 180,000 270,000 Turkey 80 80 100,000 NA Turkmenistan5/ 50 50 NA 200 Other countries 170 160 100,000 200,000 World total, natural (may be rounded) 2,300 2,400 6/ 3,300,000 7/ 4,600,000 World total, synthetic (rounded) 1,600 1,600 -- -- World total (rounded) 3,900 4,000 -- -- World Resources: Sodium sulfate resources are sufficient to last hundreds of years at the present rate of world consumption. In addition to the countries listed in World Production, the following countries also contain identified resources of sodium sulfate: Botswana, China, Egypt, Italy, Mongolia, Romania, and South Africa. Commercial production from domestic resources is from deposits in California and Texas. The brine in Searles Lake, CA, contains about 450 million metric tons of sodium sulfate resource, representing about 35% of the lake brine. In Utah, about 12% of the dissolved salts in the Great Salt Lake is sodium sulfate, representing about 400 million tons of resource. An irregular, 21-meter-thick mirabilite deposit is associated with clay beds 4.5 to 9.1 meters below the lake bottom near Promontory Point, UT. Several playa lakes in west Texas contain underground sodium sulfate-bearing brines and crystalline material. Other economic and subeconomic deposits of sodium sulfate are near Rhodes Marsh, NV; Grenora, ND; Okanogan County, WA; and Bull Lake, WY. Sodium sulfate can also be obtained as a byproduct from the production of ascorbic acid, boric acid, cellulose, chromium chemicals, lithium carbonate, rayon, resorcinol, and silica pigments. The quantity and availability of byproduct sodium sulfate are dependent on the production capabilities of the primary industries and the sulfate recovery rates. Substitutes: In pulp and paper, emulsified sulfur and caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) can replace sodium sulfate. In detergents, a variety of products can substitute for sodium sulfate. In glassmaking, soda ash and calcium sulfate have been substituted for sodium sulfate with less-than-perfect results. e/Estimated. E Net exporter. NA Not available. 1/Source: Bureau of the Census. Synthetic production data are revised in accordance with recent updated Census statistics. 2/Defined as imports - exports + adjustments for Government and industry stock changes. 3/See Appendix B. 4/See Appendix C for definitions. 5/Part of the Former Soviet Union. Data are inadequate to formulate reliable estimates for individual countries of the Former Soviet Union. 6/Excludes Argentina, Iran, and Turkmenistan. Includes non-producing nations. 7/Excludes Argentina, Iran, and Turkey. Includes non-producing nations. Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 1996