Canadian Wollastonite products

CW Grit & Grab is an innovative traction product designed for enhancing grip on icy and snowy surfaces. Made from wollastonite, this product offers a superior alternative to traditional sand and salt mixes. Unlike chemical deicers, CW Grit & Grab leverages the natural properties of wollastonite, which adheres effectively to ice, increasing traction at various temperatures without melting it chemically. The unique needle-like structure of wollastonite particles ensures maximum grip and delivers long-lasting traction benefits. It's suitable for applications like walkways and road surfaces and is environmentally friendly and pet-safe. In addition to its traction capabilities, wollastonite in CW Grit & Grab also serves as a soil amendment, promoting plant growth and resistance to diseases in agricultural settings. This product is available in bulk for both commercial and retail use, offering versatility in application.

Over 20 million tonnes of high performance aggregates will be mined and processed over the life of the Saint Lawrence Wollastonite Deposit.  These performance aggregates are approved for use in high strength/durability concretes, HL1 superpave hot mix asphalt applications, as CN Class 1 railway ballast stone, and in environmentally sensitive waterfront and gabion stone applications.

In 2011, Canadian Wollastonite’s (CW) ortho-gneiss ore was certified by the Ministry of Transportation for Ontario (MTO) for use in major highway surface construction. This ore is approved as an FC1 and FC2 DFC/Superpave and SMA friction aggregate and is listed on MTO’s “Designated Sources for Materials”. CW’s ortho-gneiss is advantaged over many of the other sources in Ontario in that it is the province’s southernmost approved source of FC1 and FC2 aggregate.

The tough and strong ortho-gneiss produced by the mine is appropriate as an aggregate for high-friction and high-strength applications of asphalt and concrete. The low freeze-thaw loss of CW’s gneiss adds to its value as a performance aggregate for tough weathering conditions.

Canadian Wollastonite’s ore has a white crystalline appearance and a unique mineralogy that provides greater strength and durability than marble or granite. The deposit was originally formed between 1.8 and 1.25 billion years ago when Kingston and the surrounding region was covered by a warm seabed. For five hundred and fifty million years, sediments from marine organisms settled on the sea floor, eventually plunging deep into the earth under their own weight and aided by the massive tectonic changes taking place in Earth’s early formation. Subjected to extreme heat and pressure, and in the presence of silica fluids, the wollastonite was formed. This incredible process can be seen in the rock itself, with molten minerals flowing through it.