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North America’s leading integrated processor, distributor, and seller of industrial minerals.

ABRASIVES & CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS

Our abrasive products segment manufactures, processes, and distributes silica-free abrasives for blast cleaning, construction, water filtration, and water-jet cutting.

Blast Cleaning AbrasivesOpta offers the most comprehensive line of blast cleaning abrasives and grades in North America. All the abrasives we offer for blast cleaning are silica free (max. < 1 percent) to help reduce the health risks to operators.

Blast Cleaning EquipmentWe stock and sell quality blasting, surface preparation, and finishing equipment. Opta is your one source for blast cleaning products, including slags, mineral-based abrasives, metal-based abrasives, and organic abrasives, as well as a complete line of blast cleaning equipment and supplies.

Construction ProjectsWe distribute a quality line of Bentonite, “the clay of 1000 uses,” and Brightsphere reflective Road Beads. Strict quality control guarantees truly round glass beads for optimum reflection.

Waterjet CuttingOpta mines and supplies two brands of garnet, the most popular abrasive used in waterjet cutting. Our line of garnet included International Garnet and Premium Hardrock Garnet that are screened and packaged according to our customers’ requests.

Water FiltrationOpta is a world-leading supplier of a range of water filtration products like International Garnet and “Greengrit” (10-20) Pool Filtration.

FOUNDRY

We process and distribute industrial mineral products to the foundry industry, including bentonite clays used for binders in the foundry molding industry. This segment also sources and distributes a full offering of resin-coated sands.

Bentonite & Carsins

Green Sand AdditivesFoundries use Bentonite when pouring metal cast molds. The clay withstands higher temperatures, and excessive heat will not cause it to lose its chemical structure. Iron ore manufacturers add Bentonite to crushed taconite to form pellets for transport to steel mills. Opta stocks the Western sodium and Southern calcium types of Bentonite.

Carsin is a blend of various carbonaceous materials with remarkable potency for developing a high-level lustrous carbon. Penetration of molding sand by molten metal can produce defects commonly referred to as “Burn On” or “Burn In.” The addition of Carsin to the sand helps produce properly balanced molding sand and castings with good, clean finishes. Carsin reduces cleaning work and improves casting machinability.

Resin Coated SandsOpta is the authorized distributor for HA International and Itochu Ceratech Corporation. We offer the North American foundry industry the most comprehensive range of products in four market segments:

  • Resins systems for bonding sand
  • Resin-coated sand (RCS) for the shell process
  • Refractory coatings

Resin Coated Sands, available from Opta Industrial Minerals Group, include products for general purpose, aluminum, low nitrogen, and specialty coated sands such as zircon. Refractory coatings include products for iron, steel, and lost foam applications, as well as foundry ancillary products such as adhesives and release agents.

We feature and stock the following HAI products: Shell Resins, Phenolic Urethane Cold Box (PUCB), Phenolic Urethane No Bake (PUNB), Warm Box System, ALpHASET, BIOCUREX, BETASET, No-Bake (FNB) Acid Cure Systems, and MSDS.