Clariant will buy BASF attapulgite mining unit

The Swiss specialty chemical maker Clariant is buying BASF’s US attapulgite business for $60 million. The business, which operates a mine in Quincy, Florida, had 2020 sales of $36 million and employs 75 workers. Attapulgite is a magnesium-aluminum silicate clay used in adsorbents, paints, and catalysts. BASF got the unit in its 2006 purchase of Engelhard for $5.6 billion. BASF is in the process of divesting its kaolin clay business, also acquired in that deal, and recently announced plans to carve out the former Engelhard auto catalyst operation into a separate business unit.