What is it?
Rock made from the glass skeletons of microscopic algae, so porous that a lump of it floats on water.
Why does it matter?
It is the standard filter medium for beer, wine, sugar and swimming pools, and a mild abrasive and absorbent.
Deeper written sections for this material have not been published yet. Everything below is drawn straight from the source datasets and is complete.
Who produces it
See it on a map →Mine production
Mine productionthousand metric tons 2025 (estimated) World total 2,500 thousand metric tons
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · Gross weight of processed diatomite. · source ↗
Scroll the table sideways for the remaining columns.
| Country | Production | Share of world |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 720.0 | 28.8% |
| France | 250.0 | 10.0% |
| Argentina | 190.0 | 7.6% |
| Other countries | 160.0 | 6.4% |
| Turkey | 150.0 | 6.0% |
| China | 140.0 | 5.6% |
| Korea, Republic of | 120.0 | 4.8% |
| Mexico | 100.0 | 4.0% |
| Peru | 99.00 | 4.0% |
| Germany | 50.00 | 2.0% |
| Spain | 50.00 | 2.0% |
| Russia | 50.00 | 2.0% |
| Japan | 40.00 | 1.6% |
| New Zealand | 40.00 | 1.6% |
| World total | 2,500 | 100% |
Mine production: processed
Mine production: processedthousand metric tons 2025 (estimated)
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · Gross weight of processed diatomite. · source ↗
Scroll the table sideways for the remaining columns.
| Country | Production | Share of world |
|---|---|---|
| Denmark | 380.0 | — |
“Withheld” means the USGS suppressed the figure to avoid disclosing an individual company's data — it does not mean zero. Country rows do not always sum to the world total because the source rounds each figure independently and does not always break out an “other countries” line.
Who holds the reserves
Reserves
Reservesthousand metric tons 2025
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · source ↗
| Country | Reserves | Share of world |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 250,000 | — |
| China | 120,000 | — |
| Spain | 57,000 | — |
| Turkey | 44,000 | — |
| Korea, Republic of | 2,200 | — |
| New Zealand | Not applicable | — |
| Peru | Not applicable | — |
| Russia | Not applicable | — |
| Mexico | Not applicable | — |
| Argentina | Not applicable | — |
| France | Not applicable | — |
| Germany | Not applicable | — |
| Japan | Not applicable | — |
| Other countries | Not applicable | — |
| World total | Large | 100% |
Reserves: processed
Reserves: processedthousand metric tons 2025
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · source ↗
| Country | Reserves | Share of world |
|---|---|---|
| Denmark | Not applicable | — |
Price
average value, f.o.b. plant, dollars per metric ton
Annual averagedollars per metric ton
Basis: average value, f.o.b. plant, dollars per metric ton. Annual averages as published in USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · source ↗. These are reference annual averages, not a live market quote.