SOCIETÀ SARDA DI BENTONITE Srl

Società Sarda di Bentonite (SSB) was founded in 1989 following the merger of MI.CHI.SA. (part of the Laviosa Group from Livorno) and Sud-Chemie Mining Company, based in Munich. It operates the bentonite mines named “Case S’Aliderru” and Padulazzu, Sardinia. The operations include all mining phases, supplying of raw bentonite, extrusion and activation, drying and shipping of granular bentonite in bulk.

In 2012, the entire Sud-Chemie package was acquired by the CLARIANT Group, based in Switzerland. SSB contributes to the production and commercialization of bentonites and bleaching earths with an overall volume exceeding 2 million tons per year. These products are used in multiple sectors (foundries, paper industry, pharmaceutical industry, wine and oil clarification, civil engineering, desiccants, etc.).

Today, SSB has its legal headquarters in Cagliari (CA) and develops vertical integration in Sardinia through two production hubs: one in the Municipality of Santa Giusta, where ships are loaded for various international destinations, and the other near two extraction sites: “Padulazzu” and the most important, “Case S’Aliderru”. The latter hosting an activation plant and large areas where the clay is sundried.

The company currently employs 22 direct employees, with an additional workforce of up to 150 people through subcontracted work for earthmoving, transportation, and maintenance services.

The company holds ISO 9001-14001-45001 certifications (SQS Certificate Clariant).

At the Group level, the company is developing the “Mining Excellence” project, which aims to compare, select, and implement the best technologies and working methodologies internationally across the 53 mines of the Group.