EnvironOxide™ pigments are used in making Enviro-Friendly Yellow Iron Oxide, Enviro-Friendly Red Iron Oxide and Enviro-Friendly Brown Iron Oxide.

These pigments are the result of an environmental restoration effort – made from iron oxide recovered from abandoned mine drainage via a waste-free process. They are readily interchangeable with other iron oxide pigments, which must otherwise be mined or produced synthetically.

The process removes iron oxide that is recovered from passive treatment systems of abandoned mine discharge sites.  The colorful (but polluted) residual that results from the country’s coal mining heritage is a “problem of misplaced pigment” according to the Environoxide company, Iron Oxide Recovery. Addressing this problem, however, has created a unique business opportunity. The company sells the raw material to a pigment manufacturer who processes and sells the milled product to paint companies, stain manufacturers and concrete companies, among others.

Iron Oxide Recovery’s approach is to identify an existing deposit of iron sludge, turn it into a product, then find a customer for it. Hoover Color specializes in earth-tone pigments used extensively in paints, wood stains and concrete – they use EnvironOxide as a raw material in products sold around the world.