The nepheline syenite market is expected to grow at a 2.11% CAGR, increasing to USD 292.284 million by 2030 from USD 263.304 million in 2025.
Nepheline syenite is an igneous rock majorly used in the production of coatings, ceramics, polymers, refractories, and glass products. Nepheline syenite is often used to describe rocks that include less than 30% of either nepheline or dark silicate minerals by volume. Nepheline syenite as plutonic rocks are extremely rare in the lithosphere, but they are found in a wide diversity across every major continent, and volcanic samples have been found on a sizable number of oceanic islands. Since the first introduction of nepheline syenite in the Canadian economy in 1932, Canada operated as the world's sole manufacturer of the material for a long period of time. Nepheline syenite was initially used as a raw material for the glass, ceramic, and filler industries in Canada. However, through market research and mechanical efforts, the nepheline syenite extraction activities spread across to different countries such as Idia, Norway, and Russia. Therefore, the extensive application of nepheline syenite in the manufacture of ceramic and glass products will result in significant growth of the nepheline syenite market over the forecast period.
The growing demand for the incorporation of glass-based products in the interior designing market is resulting in increased consumption of nepheline syenite in the production of glass products, For instance, the US Geological Survey reported that approximately 65% of the aggregate nepheline syenite and feldspar minerals were for the purposes of glass items in 2021. The advantages of sophistication, spatial area enlargement, and the penetration of natural sunlight by the application of glass in contemporary residential designs in promoting the demand for glass products in the interior designing field. In addition, the projected growth of the interior designing area indicated by the estimation of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics of a 0.9% annual rise in interior designing jobs by 2031 is expected to further promote the use of glass products. Therefore, the increase in building activities and the simultaneous demand for interior designing services across the world will result in a greater demand for nepheline syenite for tableware glass, container glass, glass sheets, and other glass products.
Due to the rise in the activities of the construction sectors across major economies, the consumption of ceramics is rising for the production of ceramic tiles, sanitary fixtures, and other clay products. For instance, US Government reported that residential construction across the country increased from US$ 802,933 million in 2021 to US$ 909,876 million in 2022 in the private sector while the public sector witnessed an increase from US$ 793,660 million in 2021 to US$ 900,665 million in 2022. This demonstrates the increase in ceramic consumption in the construction sector due to the rise in the value of residential construction which stimulated the rise in nepheline syenite consumption. Therefore, the rising demand for glass products in the interior designing field and the expansion of the construction sector will propel the growth of the nepheline syenite market over the forecast period.
The utilization of recycled container glass in the form of cullet for further manufacture of container glass products lowers the demand for the nepheline syenite market. For instance, the Environmental Protection Agency of the US reported that the glass container recycling rate of the US was estimated to be 31% in 2021 and the British Glass Organization revealed that the glass recycling rate of the UK was around 74.2%. The reuse of glass in the further production of glass products lowers the consumption of nepheline syenite for manufacturing glass and since the glass products are the most dominant consumers of the nepheline syenite market, this could result in a restrained growth of the nepheline syenite market.
The nepheline syenite market in North America is witnessing high levels of demand due to the increased consumption of nepheline syenite across different manufacturing companies in this region. According to the US Geological Survey, the nepheline syenite imports into the US for consumption purposes increased by 3% to change from 503 thousand metric tons in 2020 to 520 thousand metric tons in 2021. In addition to this, the abundance of nepheline syenite production in Canada provides further development of the nepheline syenite market in North America. For instance, the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade reported that all the imports of nepheline syenite into the US were from Canada. The total nepheline syenite production in Canada amounted to 650,000 tonnes in 2021. Therefore, considering the nepheline syenite extraction and consumption levels across the North American economies, it can be anticipated that North America will experience steady growth in its nepheline syenite market over the forecast period.
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