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 Wesjet 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, Emerald Creek 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, riser sleeves, and feeding aids.

Bentonite, Carsins, and Premix 46-B

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.

Recommended additions of PREMIX 46-B for new sand is 7 to 9 percent based on the sand weight. The higher level additions are for fines sands of AFS grain fineness number greater than 80 and production of more massive castings. Water requirements are 2.5 to 3.5 percent based on total sand weight. The variation in water requirements relates to the fineness of the base sand and the percentage of bond used.

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
  • NAIGI CERABEADS® 60 (Spherical Ceramic Sand)

Resin Coated Sands, available from Opta Minerals, 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.

Riser sleeves and feeding aidsRiser sleeves and feeding aids from Kore Mart provide the casting quality and metal yield you deserve and need to maximize your productivity and control costs. We manufacture premium riser sleeves along with the feeding aids you’ll need to improve the performance of your risers by preventing shrinkage in the casting.

We provide several different types of insulating and exothermic riser sleeve formulations. Our top-quality risers are for use with all molding systems, and for any molding machine that you might be using. We offer blind risers and open risers, pour cups, and breaker cores.

Keep your risers liquid longer with our feeding aids, which reduce heat loss or provide added heat for your exothermic materials. Ultimately, the right feeding aids for your risers could lead to better cost savings from high foundry yields and increased productivity. Our feeding aids include a variety of hot toppings for your insulating and exothermic risers.ts: 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.