india is the leading producer of mica.
india is the leading producer of mica.
which country is the leading producer of mica?
india
india accounts for 12% of the world's known and economically available thorium. it is the world's largest producer and exporter of mica, accounting for almost 60 percent of the net mica production in the world, which it exports to the united kingdom, japan, united states of america etc. as one of the largest producers and exporters of iron ore in the world, its majority exports go to japan, korea, europe and the middle east. japan accounts for nearly 3/4 of india's total iron ore exports. it also has one of the largest deposits of manganese in the world, and is a leading producer as well as exporter of manganese ore, which it exports to japan, europe (sweden, belgium, norway, among other countries), and to a lesser extent, the united states of america.
mining in india
similar to silicon, the surface of mica does not contain an appreciable density of silanol groups for covalent attachment by silanes. a recent study reported that freshly cleaved mica carries 11% silanol groups (i.e., approximately 1 in 10 silicon atoms bears a hydroxyl group). although it is possible that silanization may be carried out using untreated mica, the increased density of surface silanol groups on activated mica can significantly improve covalent attachment of silane molecules to the surface. mica can be activated by treatment with argon/water plasma, leading to a silanol surface density of 30%. working with activated surfaces introduces another consideration about the stability of the silanol groups on the activated surfaces. giasson et al. reported that the silanol groups on freshly cleaved mica that was not subjected to any treatment were found to be more stable under high vacuum compared to the plasma-activated mica: after 64 hrs, surface coverage of the silanol groups for freshly cleaved mica plasma was roughly the same, while surface coverage for activated mica decreased 3-fold to 10%.
silanization of silicon and mica