The global lime material market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.29%, reaching a market size of US$51.829 billion in 2030 from US$42.015 billion in 2025.
Lime is a calcium-containing inorganic mineral consisting of both hydroxides and oxides. It is sometimes referred to as calcium oxide, and limestone materials are burned extensively to create it. It can be obtained from coal seam fires as well. The mineral is very well-liked in the mining, water treatment, building, and agricultural industries. It has been included in building methods and construction projects for thousands of years.
The material's many qualities, including toughness, durability, and water resistance, make it highly beneficial for a wide range of industrial applications. Cohesion, air content, adhesion, setting time, bond strength, water content, and resistance to sulfates are only a few of the many intricate and varied properties of lime. The degree of quality and characteristics vary depending on the stage of building and manufacturing as well as the source of the lime element. The market is largely fragmented, and regional companies are essential to the entire market’s expansion.
This material also enhances the impermeability of soil. For arid, damp, and wet soil, fast lime has significantly influenced the building industry, aside from hydrated lime. This contributes to the improvement and enlargement of the work surface. The way lime affects the soil has changed significantly over the last several years. Lime enhances clay soil's general stability and modifies its ability to retain moisture. The soil is useful for building and construction operations; however, some actions and processes must be followed to guarantee that its lifespan and shear strength are improved. Moreover, the expansion of the building industry is predicted to result in a large increase in the lime material market worldwide.
The companies and organizations that have used lime water for water treatment properties stated that there has been an enhancement in the smell, color, and taste of the drinking water. The cloudiness gets removed, and various types of infected organisms are eliminated. Comprehensively, the industry is expected to expand significantly as governments worldwide are spending a considerable amount of money to purify their water supplies.
The production of industrial minerals in the United States was valued at $63.5 billion in 2022, 10% more than in 2021, as per USGS. It further stated that manufacturing building aggregates, or crushed stone and sand, accounted for $31.4 billion. Moreover, the estimated 55 billion to 75 billion tonnes of bauxite deposits are spread over Africa (32%), Oceania (23%), South America and the Caribbean (21%), Asia (18%), and other regions (6%).
Given how widely lime is used to remove impurities during the production of steel, iron, gold, alumina, silver, lead, copper, and other materials, the global lime market is expected to soar along with the mining industry’s expansion. Lime material is essential to produce non-ferrous metals like Germanium, aluminum, and other related metals. It is applied to extract uranium, recover gold from metals, and treat and cure copper ore.
Except for independent commercial hydrators, an estimated 17 million tonnes of quicklime and hydrated lime with a total projected value of $2.3 billion were produced in 2022 in the United States. 28 firms manufactured lime; 18 of them sold it commercially, while the remaining 10 produced it just for their use (such as sugar companies). In 28 States and Puerto Rico, these corporations operated 73 main lime plants or facilities that ran quicklime kilns.
About 79% of the lime produced in the United States in 2022 came from the five largest U.S. firms, which produced hydrated lime or quicklime in 22 states. The main states that produced lime were Texas, Ohio, Missouri, and Kentucky. The production of steel, chemical and industrial uses (such as fertilizer, glass, paper, pulp, and precipitated calcium carbonate, as well as sugar refining), flue gas treatment, construction, water treatment, and nonferrous metal mining were the main markets for lime, in decreasing order of consumption.
The Asia-Pacific region also holds a major market share and is anticipated to register significant growth during the forecast period.
China and India hold a major share of the market. In 2022, China maintained its position as the world's top producer of antimony, accounting for 55% of mine output worldwide. A plethora of companies are operating in China, and the market is expected to grow at a decent rate in the coming years.
Overall, the market growth in the Asia Pacific region is the rising demand for better and finer quality minerals in construction, mining, agriculture, and water treatment. The rise of the middle-class population in the region will also drive the overall market growth during the forecast period.
| Report Metric | Details |
|---|---|
| Study Period | 2021 to 2031 |
| Historical Data | 2021 to 2024 |
| Base Year | 2025 |
| Forecast Period | 2026 – 2031 |
| Report Metric | Details |
| Lime Material Market Size in 2025 | US$42.015 billion |
| Lime Material Market Size in 2030 | US$51.829 billion |
| Growth Rate | CAGR of 4.29% |
| Study Period | 2020 to 2030 |
| Historical Data | 2020 to 2023 |
| Base Year | 2024 |
| Forecast Period | 2025 – 2030 |
| Forecast Unit (Value) | USD Billion |
| Segmentation |
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| Geographical Segmentation | North America, South America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific |
| List of Major Companies in the Lime Material Market |
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| Customization Scope | Free report customization with purchase |
The global lime material market is segmented and analyzed as follows: