Our natural Grade 1 gypsum is suitable for a variety of uses.
Bulk product is sold direct from our Elephant Lake mine site located east of Meningie and from our stockpiles at Tintinara or Robe (see maps page).
Sales are widespread throughout South Australia, parts of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
Product is sold in bulk tonnages and is also available in 1 tonne bulka bags.
Enquiries are welcome from anywhere and transport can be quoted if required. Click here for sales enquiries.
We have partnered with Van Den Brink Contractors to provide a reliable, quality freight service at competitive rates.
Uses
Agriculture & Viticulture
Many clay soils are impermeable. Any water, be it from rain or irrigation, will evaporate into thin air or just run off.
When gypsum is spread on the soil, the sodium ions from the clay particles are replaced by calcium ions from the gypsum causing the clay particles to increase in size. The pore spaces also increase in size allowing surface water and air to percolate down to the root zone. As a result plant growth improves.
Flocculation
Storm water, coming off open ground, contains clay particles which cause turbidity. This water enters reservoirs or catchment dams and remains in a state of high turbidity. MENINGIE GYPSUM has the ability to flocculate these clay particles. Clay particles, treated with gypsum, increase in size and drop out of suspension, thus leading to clearer water. This has been demonstrated by an experiment whereby MENINGIE GYPSUM was applied to a clay suspension at rates ranging from 0.5 gram/litre to 2 gram/litre.
As a result of our experiments, a major highway construction company purchased MENINGIE GYPSUM in bulkabags. See Case study: The Hume Highway.
Australia’s greatest waterway, the Murray River, provides domestic water for the southeast of the country but, untreated, it contains a large amount of suspended clay. This situation has become worse in the last few decades as the introduced pest, European Carp Cyprinus carpio, stirs up fine clay from the river bed. One of our experiments showed that MENINGIE GYPSUM reduced the turbidity of Murray River water from 10% to 3% within 48 hours. Distilled water, with 0% turbidity, was used as the control.
Gypsum is used to dewater sewage sludge in Northern Hemisphere treatment plants. Our product, being of high quality and ultrafine grained, is ideal for this application. An experiment was conducted on sea water containing suspended clay rich soil. MENINGIE GYPSUM slightly increased the settling rate but, more importantly, it removed yellow staining from the water, believed to be caused by suspended or dissolved organic matter. This result presents opportunities in aquaculture. Contact us if you can see a use for MENINGIE GYPSUM in your storm water treatment, domestic water production, sewage sludge treatment or aquaculture.
Absorbtion
Our gypsum, being naturally very fine grained, is an ideal absorbent. It has been marketed to garages and service stations for this purpose. See Case study: Absorbent.
Stockfeed
All grain fed animals require a mineral supplement. For example sulphur is essential for protein synthesis and growth of rumen microbes. Pure gypsum, contains 18.6% sulphur, and is one of the minerals incorporated into stockfeed mixes. MENINGIE GYPSUM can be supplied to any stockfeed manufacturer in bulka bags and also pallets of 25kg bags. It is ideal due to its high purity but it is also low in quartz (free silica) content. Therefore it will not harm the teeth of sheep or cattle. Stockfeed suppliers please contact us for your stockfeed gypsum requirements.
Plaster
Gypsum is the sole raw material required to make plaster. The specifications for plaster grade gypsum are stringent with restrictions on various impurities. MENINGIE GYPSUM is suitable for plaster manufacture after leaching. The company has made laboratory scale batches of plaster (stucco). Millions of tonnes of gypsum at Meningie are available for treatment.
Cement
Gypsum is an important component in cement manufacture. Cement contains around 5% to 7% gypsum which controls the setting time of concrete. We have large deposits of MENINGIE GYPSUM available for the cement industry.
Miscellaneous uses
High grade gypsum is used as filler in plastics, paint, adhesives and tile grouts. Gypsum is also a component of certain types of glass. Food grade gypsum is used in tofu manufacture. There are pharmaceutical uses for high grade gypsum as well.
“A very consistent product that spreads easily.”
