—June 2, 2026 at the Hyatt Regency Dallas Texas | General Meeting at 3:00 pm (Room: Sanger B).
NPA Symposia
From time to time, the NPA holds a symposium to gather industry professionals, researchers, and thought leaders from around the world to share knowledge and accelerate the acceptance and use of natural pozzolans.
The next NPA Symposium will be in held in Colorado Springs, Colorado (venue to be determined) on May 25-27, 2027.
PAST SYMPOSIA
Agendas and photo galleries from past symposia are linked below.
2025 SYMPOSIUM
2023 SYMPOSIUM
2019 SYMPOSIUM
Announcements
March 2026—Burgess Pigment to Acquire Thiele Kaolin. Burgess and Thiele have entered into a definitive agreement...
Burgess Pigment and Thiele Kaolin Company have entered into a definitive agreement for Burgess to acquire Thiele.
Thiele is an exceptional business with a strong reputation for quality, reliability, and technical expertise. It has long been our provider of raw material used in the production of processed kaolin products. This combination aligns closely with our long-term strategy to build a vertically integrated and differentiated specialty minerals platform. Together, we will be better positioned to meet customer demands for consistent supply and to offer a broader range of high-performance solutions while continuing to invest in our people, operations, and innovation capabilities and driving supply chain savings.
The transaction brings together two highly complementary kaolin businesses with shared histories in Sandersville and Washington County. The combined company will offer an expanded portfolio of kaolin products, enhanced technical and R&D capabilities, and greater scale to support customers’ evolving performance and sustainability requirements.
Our existing leadership team at Burgess Pigment will remain in place, supplemented by Eric Tillirson, who will continue to serve as President of Thiele Kaolin Company.
We expect the transaction to be completed in 2026. In the meantime, customers can expect the same dedicated leadership, manufacturing and sales teams, services levels, and quality product relied on today.
July 2024—NPA Partners with PCA for EPD Funds. On July 16th, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that our EPD Upgrade Project proposal was selected for funding...
For nearly two years now, the NPA has worked to provide an industry-aligned process for our members to develop effective and application-appropriate Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for their pozzolans. This tool measures a material’s carbon footprint or greenhouse gas equivalent (GHG). This information can then be used to compute the overall carbon footprint by composite materials which incorporate pozzolans into their mix design—especially cement and concrete. Natural pozzolans (NP) have up to 95% lower carbon embodiment, on a pound-for-pound basis, than hydraulic cements. Thus, when NP is used in a concrete mix design to replace cement, the overall GHG of the concrete is reduced significantly. Whereas concrete is known to contribute around 7% of total carbon emissions each year, there are few if any materials which can have such a major positive impact on the global carbon footprint than pozzolans. So, in partnership with the Portland Concrete Association (and other associations with similar needs), and in alignment with the published goals of the EPA, we applied for federal financial assistance to help our members begin the EPD procurement process.
On July 16th, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that our EPD Upgrade Project proposal was selected for funding. The $2.4 million award (if funded) will allow the PCA-led project to focus on the following goals: to significantly boost the number of facility-specific EPDs for cementitious materials, and to upgrade the quality of the information therein.
Per the PCA’s press release, the project will “support the development and verification of EPDs for construction materials and products” and “will entail PCA distributing up to $1.5 million in grants to eligible manufacturers over the next five years. The association will also provide training and on-call technical assistance to guide manufacturers from EPD development to verification to the final publishing of the information. Additionally, PCA will help initiate and regularly update industry-average EPDs for cementitious materials.”
Next steps include a meeting with the EPA’s program officers to discuss the necessary steps to get the award of funds in place and the project off the ground. That meeting is expected to take place in late July. We will keep you apprised of our progress.
Ash at Work Magazine: ASH Allies—The Natural Pozzolan Association. The following article appeared in Ash at Work, 2023, Issue 1.
CR Minerals: Pozzolans from Mine Waste to Decarbonize Concrete. CR Minerals and Rio Tinto have agreed to produce pozzolans from waste materials at the U.S. Borax facility in Boron, CA
CR Minerals intends to use waste tailings present onsite to produce pozzolans that can be used as a cement replacement in concrete. The pozzolans will be manufactured at a new facility to be constructed by CR Minerals on Rio Tinto’s property as part of this agreement.
“We have been working with Rio Tinto for several years now to bring this concept to life. Taking what was once considered waste streams and turning them into usable products for the construction materials industry is part of the vision of our company. Manufacturing a low carbon alternative to cement will be an exciting venture in the State of California that prides itself on being at the forefront of effecting positive environmental change.” —Jeff Whidden, President, CR Minerals. SEE the November 08, 2022 press release for additional details.
Cover Story in Concrete Products Magazine: Pozzolan Proliferation. Writing in the July 2022 issue, Don Marsh explores the proliferation of portland cement alternatives, including...
new opportunities in coal ash harvesting and the increasing scrutiny of levels of embodied carbon in individual construction projects. The article addresses the role of natural pozzolans combined with recycled content to form a product to meet the growing demand for a low-carbon portland cement substitute, as well as related topics. DOWNLOAD the Concrete Products July 2022 issue (story begins on page 50).
Sunrise Resources: The Company is delighted to announce the issue of the mine permit for its CS Perlite-Pozzolan Project in Nevada, USA...
July 29, 2020—MINE PERMIT IS GRANTED. “This positive mine permit decision comes after 2-1/2 years of mine planning, environmental studies and reporting,” said Sunrise Executive Chairman Patrick Cheetham. “We can now move forward with the staged development of mining and mineral processing operations at the CS Project. This is required to secure offtake agreements and the grant of the mining permit will be a major catalyst in this process. The mine permit comes at a propitious time as cement industry demand is growing for natural pozzolan as a fly ash replacement and the horticultural demand for perlite is increasing with the rising cultivation of medicinal marijuana. We believe that this is a major value-adding milestone for the Company and puts the project firmly on the map as one of just a few permitted deposits of perlite and high quality natural pozzolan in the US.”
The CS Project is located approximately 24 miles northwest of Tonopah, in Esmeralda County, Nevada, USA and is held by the Company’s 100% owned subsidiary SR Minerals Inc. (SRM).
The BLM’s Environmental Assessment (EA) for the CS Project is now final. The BLM, having now evaluated the EA, has handed down a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Company’s Mine Plan of Operations and accordingly determined that an Environmental Impact Statement is not required per Section 102(2) (c) of the National Environmental Policy Act. The FONSI recognizes the positive contributions that the use of natural pozzolan can make to a reduction in CO2 emissions in the US as a replacement in the cement industry for the fly ash from coal-fired power stations.
FThe BLM has also issued its Decision Record approving and authorising the Company’s Mine Plan of Operations. This now allows the Company to develop the CS Mine according to that plan and in compliance with the various environmental mitigation measures and best practice measures proposed by the Company in its various submissions to the BLM. The BLM authorised Mine Plan of Operations covers the production of 1,656,000 tons of perlite and 14,523,000 tons of natural pozzolan over a 27-year period.
Salt River Materials Group (SRMG): Latest capital investment at Tucson Electric Power site includes equipment to blend Class F fly ash from SRMG’s supply network with a regionally available natural pozzolan...
JULY 16, 2020—SRMG’S NEW BLEND OF FLY ASH AND NATURAL POZZOLAN SOLVES TUCSON’S SUPPLY DEMAND. In recent years securing a consistent supply of high-quality fly ash has been a challenge for some of the United States construction markets. Salt River Materials Group (SRMG), a fly ash and pozzolan marketer in the Southwest U.S. since 1973, understands the challenges of maintaining sufficient availability of quality products. For the past four decades, SRMG focused investment on innovative projects, such as beneficiation of otherwise unusable fly ashes, and now blending various sources of fly ashes and other pozzolanic materials to extend the supply of high-quality fly ash, typically used in ready-mix concrete production. On July 16, 2020 at its Tucson Terminal, SRMG commissioned its second blending facility.
Using the new precision blending equipment, SRMG incorporates ASTM C618 Class F fly ash from SRMG’s supply network with a regionally available ASTM C618 Class N natural pozzolan to create the resulting ASTM C1697 blended product. Marketed as “Tucson Pozzolan” the consistent, high-quality blend expands the availability of this critical material beyond previously available quantities in the market.
To prepare for importation of fly ash and natural pozzolan by truck or rail into the Tucson Terminal for blending, SRMG rehabilitated and expanded the existing infrastructure. In addition to the rail project, SRMG purchased and installed precision blending equipment and retro-fitted silos, providing safe and dust-free customer truck loading capability for Tucson Pozzolan.
At a time when coal-burning power plants are shutting down, potentially reducing fly ash availability, SRMG is focused on innovation. With another stable source of quality product added to the extensive supply network, Tucson Pozzolan will allow SRMG to maintain its reputation as a dependable and major fly ash marketer in the southwestern U.S. that can be trusted to deliver for years to come.
About SRMG: Salt River Materials Group (SRMG) is the commercial trade name for marketing activities of Phoenix Cement Company and Salt River Sand and Rock. SRMG, headquartered at the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community’s Chaparral Business Park near Scottsdale, Arizona, is the only Native American-owned producer of portland cement in the U.S., and is also a major manufacturer and marketer of sand and gravel and recycled coal combustion products (fly ash) and pozzolans throughout Arizona and the southwestern United States.
CONTACT: Dale Diulus / James Carusone • 480-850-5757
CR Minerals: Announcing the expansion of operations in Pueblo, CO. The expansion will more than triple the production output of the facility...
June 5, 2020
CR MINERALS ANNOUNCES PLANT EXPANSION
FORT WORTH, TX – CR Minerals, a leading manufacturer of pumice products and construction materials, has announced the expansion of its operations in Pueblo, CO. The company will be investing over $11 million and adding approximately 8 more jobs to its existing staff over the next three years. The expansion will more than triple the production output of the facility enabling CR Minerals to serve its customers in Colorado and surrounding states well into the future.
The CO facility focuses on the production of a patented remediated fly ash (Tephra® RFA) as well as other products (Tephra® OG and Tephra® NP) that are geared toward the construction materials as well as oil and gas industries.
“We are very excited about the expansion of our plant in Pueblo,” said Jeffrey Whidden, President of CR Minerals Company. “The continued growth of our business in CO and declining availability of high- quality fly ash for our customers are the driving forces behind our decision. Expanding the plant at this time, even in these uncertain economic conditions, will enable us to serve our customers uninterrupted for years to come. As part of this expansion, we once again thank the City of Pueblo, PEDCO, and the area’s workforce for their continued support.”
The City of Pueblo through the Pueblo Economic Development Corporation (PEDCO) has provided funding for the expansion in the amount of $160,000 as part of the City’s half cent fund for economic development. “Pueblo is thrilled to be selected as the location for CR Minerals’ continued expansion.” said Jeff Shaw, President and CEO of PEDCO.
About CR Minerals Company, LLC: CR Minerals Company, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas is a global leader in pumice products and is a manufacturer of pozzolanic materials (natural pozzolans and remediated fly ashes) for the construction and oil and gas industries. CR Minerals has operations in New Mexico and Colorado and is based in Fort Worth, Texas.
CONTACT: Elizabeth Palacios, Pueblo Office Manager • (719) 239-7867 • Elizabeth.palacios@crminerals.com
The Natural Pozzolan Association (NPA) is a network of natural pozzolan producers working to improve the performance and durability of the nation’s concrete infrastructure.
