Lovelock, NV

Our Lovelock facility is the world's largest producing diatomaceous earth (DE) plant. Its three kilns produce calcined and flux-calcined filter aids and functional additives. It’s commonly known as the Colado plant. 

The facility uses DE ore from the open-pit Colado mine, soda ash, natural gas, and electricity to manufacture products used as filtration media across many industries including brewing, corn wet milling, oil and gas, wineries, potable water, swimming pools and petrochemicals. In addition, filler products are used as an anti-block in polyethylene film and flattening agents in paint.

It has an annual capacity of approximately 156,000 tons. A perlite expander was installed in 1994, and the site crushes and screens perlite ore from our open-pit Popcorn Mine as a raw material for the Blair, Nebraska facility as well as selling expanded perlite ore for use as a filter aid and has an annual capacity of approximately 15,000 tons.

The Lovelock facility was initially commissioned in 1959 and became a part of U.S. Silica in 2018 with the acquisition of EP Minerals. 

The City of Lovelock was established in 1868 and incorporated on September 26, 1917. Lovelock is known as the “Banana Belt” due to its mild high desert climate and over 230 days per year of sunshine. The community is about 2,400 people and is 2 square miles in size. Lovelock is located in North Central Nevada long the I-80 corridor and one of only three cities in the U.S. the contains the word “Love” in its name. Lovelock is home to Lovers Lock Plaza, where people come to forever lock their love.