What Bentonite Performance Minerals does

Bentonite Performance Minerals LLC (BPM) is a vertically integrated U.S. producer of Wyoming sodium bentonite clay, operating two mining and processing facilities in the Big Horn Basin (Lovell, WY) and the Black Hills region (Colony/SD area) under a corporate headquarters in Houston, TX. The company is a subsidiary of Halliburton, evidenced by redirecting Privacy and Terms links to halliburton.com. BPM mines, processes, and engineers bentonite across multiple particle sizes (powder, granular, micro-fine) and through modification technologies (HSCAS aluminosilicates, organoclays/amines) into branded product families including ALPHASIL (animal feed), AGRI-FLEX (feed pellet binder), EXPANDA (cosmetics and personal care), SELECTCHEM (specialty industrial, seed coating, waterproofing), BARA-KADE (construction, HDD, pond sealing), NATIONAL (pet litter, foundry, iron ore pelletizing), VITIBEN (wine/beverage clarification), ORGANOTROL and ENVIRO-TROL (organoclays for environmental remediation including PFAS/PFOS), and POLYSELECT (drilling fluid additives). The company is one of the world's largest suppliers of sodium bentonite for cat litter and serves end markets in agriculture, animal feed, environmental containment, oil & gas drilling, civil construction, foundry, iron ore pelletizing, cosmetics, food & beverage, pulp & paper, and waterproofing. BPM is Safe Feed/Safe Food certified (AFIA) and NSF/ANSI/CAN 60 certified for potable water-contact products, and ships to six continents via BNSF and Genesee & Wyoming rail plus ocean container and bulk vessel logistics.

BPM's business model is B2B direct sales supplemented by custom processing and private label services. The primary revenue stream is one-time product sales of branded and unbranded sodium bentonite grades to industrial buyers across the segments listed above, with additional professional-services revenue from custom crushed-and-dried (C&D) blends, milling, screening, and bagging for downstream manufacturers. A vertically integrated private label offering allows consumer packaged goods companies and brand owners (notably in pet litter, cosmetics, and oil & gas) to source white-label bentonite products with BPM managing mining through packaging. Pricing is quote-based with no publicly disclosed price list; bulk rail cars, bulk bags (1,000-3,000 lb / 1,000 kg), 50 lb multi-wall paper valve bags, and 50 lb FFS plastic bags are the primary packaging formats. Distribution is direct from plant via rail (BNSF, Genesee & Wyoming) for North American shipments and ocean freight for international customers. Marketing is field-driven through website contact forms and technical application support, with no social media or paid-advertising presence identified.

BPM's customer base is industrial rather than consumer, with named segments rather than named logos: pet litter manufacturers (national brands and private labelers), feed mills, drilling fluid blenders, GCL manufacturers, foundries, iron ore pelletizers, cosmetic/personal care formulators, wineries, and environmental engineering firms. The company produces over 1,000,000 tons annually and won first-, second-, and third-place awards at the 2023 Wyoming State Mining Safety Competition across its Colony and Lovell plants.

Name

Bentonite Performance Minerals

Legal name

Bentonite Performance Minerals LLC

Website

https://bentonite.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1930

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Bentonite Performance Minerals is a Halliburton subsidiary and vertically integrated producer of Wyoming sodium bentonite clay, supplying specialty and private-label bentonite products to pet litter, animal feed, construction, environmental, foundry, cosmetics, and food/beverage industries across six continents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Minerals

NAICS

Ground or Treated Mineral and Earth Manufacturing (327992), Sand, Gravel, Clay, and Ceramic and Refractory Minerals Mining and Quarrying (21232), All Other Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing (32799), Nonmetallic Mineral Mining and Quarrying (2123)

SIC

Mining & Quarrying Of Nonmetallic Minerals (No Fuels) (1400), Wholesale-Metals & Minerals (No Petroleum) (5050), Abrasive, Asbestos & Misc Nonmetallic Mineral Prods (3290)

akta.pro primary industry

Kaolin & Industrial Clay Mining (Bentonite, Ball Clay, Fuller’s Earth) (IMAKAGAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Bentonite & Other Smectite Clays (IMAEAFAE), Soil Remediation & Immobilization Amendments (Bentonite, Zeolite, Phosphates) (AFABADAH), Mineral/Particulate Thickeners (Silicates, Clays, Calcium Carbonate as texturizers) (AFAJAMAJ)

Keywords

• Sodium bentonite clay
• Animal feed additives
• Drilling fluid additives
• Pond sealing products
• Pet litter bentonite

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Bentonite Clay Products: Primary revenue from mining and processing sodium bentonite clay sold as raw material and branded products. Products serve as base ingredient supplier for hundreds of customer products across multiple industries including pet litter, agriculture, construction, environmental, and industrial applications.
2. Custom Processing Services: Custom services including custom C&D (Crushed and Dried) blends, milling, screening, and bagging. Provides moderately processed bentonite as feed stock for further processing and offers various packaging options including 50lb bags and bulk sacks.
3. Private Label Services: Vertical integration allowing customers to private label bentonite products. Customers include pet litter manufacturers, consumer packaged goods companies, national brands and private labelers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Bentonite Performance Minerals mines, processes, and sells Wyoming sodium bentonite clay to industrial, agricultural, environmental, and consumer-product manufacturers through a portfolio of branded product lines including ALPHASIL (animal feed), EXPANDA (cosmetics/personal care), VITIBEN (wine/beverage clarification), SELECTCHEM (specialty industrial), BARA-KADE (construction/drilling/pond sealing), POLYSELECT (drilling fluid additives), NATIONAL (foundry, pet litter), ORGANOTROL/ENVIRO-TROL (organoclays), ENVIRO-SEAL (environmental containment), ECM (polymer additives), and AGRI-FLEX (feed binder). The company also provides custom Crushed & Dried blends, milling, screening, bagging, private-label manufacturing, and international logistics services from two processing facilities producing over 1,000,000 tons annually.

Product overview

Bentonite Performance Minerals is a leading producer of Wyoming sodium bentonite clay with mining operations in the Western US and processing facilities in Lovell and Colony, WY. The company operates as a B2B supplier of specialty bentonite products organized into distinct market-facing product lines. The ALPHASIL® and AGRI-FLEX™ lines serve the animal feed and agriculture markets. The EXPANDA® family (GOLD, WHITE, SILVER, NICKEL) addresses cosmetics and personal care with gamma-irradiated and non-irradiated micro-fine bentonites. The SELECTCHEM® line covers specialty applications including applied chemistry, waterproofing, seed coating, asphalt emulsions, and pulp/paper. The BARA-KADE® product family serves construction, drilling, and civil engineering markets with mineral slurries and pond sealing products. The POLYSELECT® line provides polymer additives for filtration control, viscosity management, and shale inhibition in drilling applications. The NATIONAL® product family targets the pet litter market with various particle size offerings. Environmental solutions include ENVIRO-SEAL® for waterproofing and GCL applications, ENVIRO-TROL™ for organic contaminant remediation, ORGANOTROL™ for organophillic clay applications, and ECM™ polymer additives. The company also offers custom processing services including C&D blends, milling, screening, bagging, and international logistics. VITIBEN® serves the food and beverage industry for wine and juice clarification. The NATIONAL STANDARD and NATIONAL STANDARD PG products serve foundry and iron ore pelletizing markets respectively. With two mining and processing facilities producing over 1,000,000 tons annually, the company is vertically integrated from mining to processing to logistics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NATIONAL: Product line for pet absorbents including NATIONAL PET, NATIONAL CAT 10, NATIONAL GRANULAR in various sizes (8, 10, 12, 16, 30)
• EXPANDA
• ALPHASIL
• SELECTCHEM
• BARA-KADE
• POLYSELECT
• AGRI-FLEX
• VITIBEN
• ENVIRO-SEAL
• ENVIRO-TROL
• ORGANOTROL
• ECM

Products and services

• ALPHASIL®

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,000,000 tons annual production capacity
• +2 more outcomes

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Wyo-Ben: U.S.-based producer of Wyoming bentonite products headquartered in Billings, MT with direct overlap in drilling fluids, pet litter, and agricultural/industrial bentonite grades — a near-direct competitor to BPM in the same basin.
• Black Hills Bentonite: Mining and milling bentonite and allied products in the Black Hills region with overlapping applications in foundry, drilling, sealing, and environmental — competing head-to-head from a neighboring South Dakota operation.
• Laviosa Group: Italian bentonite and organoclay producer serving foundry, pet-litter, oil & gas, and environmental applications — strong overlap with BPM's EXPANDA and ORGANOTROL brands, particularly in EMEA.
• Tolsa Group: Spanish specialty clay producer with bentonite and sepiolite products for pet litter, industrial, and agricultural applications — directly comparable in cat-litter bentonite and a peer in international pet-care tenders.

Broad incumbents

• Clariant (Oil & Mining Services / CETCO): Global specialty chemicals major with an Oil & Mining Services unit (formerly CETCO) supplying bentonite-based drilling fluids, GCLs, and environmental containment — broad overlap with BPM's BARA-KADE, ENVIRO-SEAL, and POLYSELECT portfolios at greater scale.
• Minerals Technologies Inc. New York-listed specialty minerals company producing bentonite and related performance materials for consumer and industrial markets — competes directly in cat-litter bentonite and other specialty grades under its Performance Materials segment.
• Imerys: Paris-listed global minerals specialist with bentonite and kaolin operations serving foundry, drilling, and pet-care end markets — directly comparable to BPM across multiple industrial bentonite applications.
• LKAB Minerals: Industrial minerals arm of Swedish mining group LKAB, producing bentonite and related functional minerals for foundry, civil engineering, and environmental markets — overlap with BPM's BARA-KADE and NATIONAL lines in Europe.

Emerging players

• Ashapura Minechem: Indian bentonite and industrial minerals producer with growing international footprint in cat-litter, foundry, and drilling bentonite — competes with BPM in export markets and on price across global tenders.

Regional players

• EP Minerals (U.S. Silica Holdings): Diatomaceous earth and specialty mineral supplier under U.S. Silica producing adsorbent and functional mineral products, including bentonite-based offerings for filtration, GCLs, and pet-litter — adjacent competitor in select environmental and pet-care applications.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bentoniteperformanceminerals

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bentonite Performance Minerals