Geohellas S.A.
The exclusive European source for attapulgite clay and custom attapulgite/saponite blends, Geohellas is an industrial minerals company whose abundant resources are complemented by professional strength in depth. Featuring an expert, dedicated R&D department and leading-edge manufacturing facilities, Geohellas delivers an expanding portfolio of superior technical clay products that enhance product quality and performance for clients in various business sectors. The Geohellas team is committed to improving the performance, efficiency and output of our customers` products. To guarantee consistently excellent quality for all Geohellas products, we have established an advanced quality management system, a system that conforms to the ISO 9001:2015 norms as certified by Lloyd`s Register. This dedication to quality is complemented by a strict adherence to hygiene, safety and the protection of the environment in all of Geohellas`s processes.
Company details
Find locations served, office locations
- Business Type:
- Manufacturer
- Industry Type:
- Mining - Minerals
- Market Focus:
- Internationally (various countries)
- Year Founded:
- 1998
- Employees:
- 11-100
This company also provides solutions for other industrial applications.
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About Us
The exclusive European source for attapulgite clay and custom attapulgite/saponite blends, Geohellas is an industrial minerals company whose abundant resources are complemented by professional strength in depth. Featuring an expert, dedicated R&D department and leading-edge manufacturing facilities, Geohellas delivers an expanding portfolio of superior technical clay products that enhance product quality and performance for clients in various business sectors.
The Geohellas team is committed to improving the performance, efficiency and output of our customers’ products. To guarantee consistently excellent quality for all Geohellas products, we have established an advanced quality management system, a system that conforms to the ISO 9001:2015 norms as certified by Lloyd’s Register. This dedication to quality is complemented by a strict adherence to hygiene, safety and the protection of the environment in all of Geohellas’s processes. Together, this comprises the value-adding approach, which has secured for Geohellas a growing industry reputation.
Together, this comprises the value-adding approach, which has secured for Geohellas a growing industry reputation.
Attapulgite
Attapulgite is a unique clay mineral with a wide variety of industrial uses.
The uniqueness of attapulgite as an industrial mineral is owed to its very high surface area and porosity. Its magnesium silicate structure resembles a brick wall with every second brick missing. This leaves elongated porous channels that are highly absorbent and capable of forming gels when ground to fine powders.
The pore volume of Geohellas attapulgite is 0,6 to 0,7 ml/g, while surface areas range from 250 to over 300 m2/g. In everyday terms, one can imagine that it would be possible to cover an entire football pitch with only few tens of grams of attapulgite!
Sorbent and gelling grades of attapulgite find their way in a variety of basic as well as niche applications.
Sorbent grades of attapulgite are used as clarifying agents for oils, filter aids, oil spill absorbents, pesticide carriers, soil improvers, animal litters, and toxin binders for humans and animals. With regard to toxic binding, attapulgite has a long history of use in the USA as the functional ingredient in the most popular anti-diarrheal pharmaceuticals.
Gelling grades are used as thickening agents in applications ranging from paints to drilling muds, with niche applications in cosmetics and liquid health care products.
Attapulgite differs from other clays in a variety of ways. For example, unlike gels made with bentonite clay, gels made with attapulgite remain stable in the presence of salts and other additives. This means that attapulgite retains its thickening properties in complex formulations used in applications such as paints, stuccos, and pharmaceuticals. For the same reason, attapulgite is the clay of choice for drilling in salt-contaminated oil and gas formations.
In terms of sorbent properties, attapulgite excels over all other clays as a clarification agent for the edible oils industry. The ability of attapulgite to purify is enhanced by thermal treatment to temperatures over 200°C where it develops a surface acidity optimal for mild but effective oil contaminant removal.
With an emphasis on R&D, the unique properties of attapulgite are fully exploited by Geohellas in existing and new applications and products. Our flexibility in production and extensive reserves make Geohellas the one-and-only European source of attapulgite for a broad range of industry and consumer markets.
Quality Management
Geohellas products are incorporated in complex and highly sophisticated processes by our clients; therefore strict conformity with specification is essential.
During all stages of the production process, quality is carefully monitored by Geohellas’s Quality Control Department, through an advanced quality management system that conforms to the ISO 9001:2015 norms as certified by Lloyds Register.
The Quality Control laboratory is staffed by highly trained technicians and is equipped to carry out all routine analyses, as well as complex, application-related analyses.
The Geohellas team is committed to improving the performance, efficiency and output of our customers’ products.
This dedication to quality is complemented by a strict adherence to hygiene, safety and the protection of the environment in all of Geohellas’s processes.
Quality Policy
In terms of quality, Geohellas aims to always achieve the result expected by our customers on time, upon first attempt and at the lowest possible cost.
Our philosophy leads us in making constant efforts to:
- Improve communication & cooperation with customers.
- Explore new uses of our materials.
- Create new products and applications.
- Invest in continuous education and training of our personnel.
- Maintain a completely safe and healthy working environment.
- Minimise the impact of the Company’s activities on the Environment.
- Support and strengthen good relations with the Local Community.
- Improve communication and develop team spirit among our personnel.
- Develop partnerships with suppliers and contractors.
Complete customer satisfaction requires never-ending efforts from all of us. As a result, we strongly believe that:
Plant and Mines
Plant
The Geohellas plant processes the clay minerals that are transported from the company’s mines, producing high quality final products that totally fulfill the client specifications and demands. It is a modern unit with high flexibility and production lines suitable for the production of the whole range of the granular and powder products. At the moment the plant has three separate production lines, employing all available milling technologies, giving us the possibility to produce anything from granules to ultrafine powders at any desired particle size distribution. Besides drying, thermal activation through calcination is another processing option. Production is fully automated and in strict conformity to all the quality and safety regulations. It is vertically integrated and ends up to the production of final products completely adapted to the needs of the clients. A large variety of packaging options from bulk to 5 kg bags or boxes, allows us to serve any size of client, in a suitable to his facilities way.
Our highly qualified and fully trained staff and a strict Quality Control system – certified according to the highest international standards – assures the delivery of high quality products that fit the needs of each specific client.
Mines
Our deposits spread across four (4) privately-owned mines (quarries), which are located in the vicinity of the Plant. Geohellas has obtained the full and final mining permits for all its deposits. Geological mapping of these mines is already completed and the proven reserves amount to over 20 million tons of a sedimentary, high quality, attapulgite – saponite deposit. The deposit layers have been analyzed in detail by our two laboratories (at the Plant and in Athens) and at least 15 different types of the minerals have been identified. By matching the special characteristics of each type of the minerals to the needs of different products we are able to satisfy the requirements of each individual application.
Mining (quarrying) takes place at open pits in complete agreement with the technical and environmental demands of the legislation. Mining season is usually between May and October, to take advantage of favorable weather conditions. Most of the mining is carried out by specialized sub-contractors, under the supervision of our Geologists. The mined clay is locally sun dried, reducing therefore the fuel consumption during processing at the Plant and making the procedure more environmentally friendly. As the mining works progress, restoration is carried out, in order to minimize the environmental impact of our activities.