A week ago several of us volunteers had the opportunity to tour a local processing facility in Superior. OMYA Ever heard of it? None of us had heard of it either. Their are 183 of their plants throughout the world. So what does the local plant process, you ask? We were given an array of safety products to wear during our tour. Calcium Carbonate. What is Calcium Carbonate? Before last week, I had no idea. After, I know that it is white. It is mined in the winter in Amboy, Ca which is 50 miles west of Needles, Ca. The ore is hauled to Superior by truck all year long. The product is pure white. Pure is the right word because this product is pure enough for food and pharmaceutical use.
The raw ore, which looks like crystal, is unloaded into vats and then goes through a series of grinders and comes out a fine powder. There are a couple of powder sizes based on the future applications and packaged either in 50 lb bags or in 2 ton bags. We were surprised by the scope of the items that calcium carbonate is added to.
General Mills cereals have CC added. Chewing gum. ( You know the white powder when you unwrap the stick of gum? That's CC )
A fashion statement, don;t you think?
A fun and informative day.
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