It’s not every day that you get to record a podcast from the bottom of an open-pit mine. But then again, it’s not every day that you come across a material as versatile and vital as diatomaceous earth.
On a recent episode of the Manufacturing Happy Hour podcast, host Chris Luecke ventured into the heart of Imerys’ diatomaceous earth mine in Lompoc, California. There, surrounded by towering walls of white, chalky rock, he sat down with Ken Rasmussen, the company’s Operations Director, to discuss the past, present, and future of this unassuming but utterly essential mineral.
Diatomaceous earth, or DE as it’s known in the industry, is the fossilized remains of single-cell aquatic organisms called diatoms. Despite being invisibly small — a single diatom is just half the width of a human hair — these ancient algae have an outsized impact on our modern world.
“It’s basically a hyper filtration material,” Rasmussen explained. “It has very, very tiny holes in it that are used for filtration of anything from water through blood.”
If we were at Firestone drinking an 805, they would be filtering the product over our diatomite.
That’s right: from the beer in your glass to the medicine in your cabinet, chances are it’s been purified using DE. The COVID vaccines that have saved countless lives over the past few years? They relied on DE filtration, too. It’s a level of impact that’s all the more remarkable considering the industry’s relatively small footprint.
“We’re very unique,” Rasmussen noted. “We’re not like cement, where there’s almost 3,000 plants throughout the world. Diatomaceous earth suppliers, there’s maybe 20 plants worldwide.”
The Lompoc mine, which has been in operation since 1893, is one of the largest and most historic DE sites in the world. Over the decades, the mineral’s applications have evolved from kerosene lamps and building insulation to the cutting-edge filtration and pharmaceutical uses of today. But one thing that hasn’t changed is the operation’s deep connection to the surrounding community.
“We absolutely try to be a good neighbor,” Rasmussen emphasized. “We also put back a lot into the community too. We have employee volunteer programs as well as we do a lot from a donations standpoint — local YMCA, the hospital, the police, open bowls. We’re always looking for ways to give back to the community and be a partner in the community.”
That commitment extends to the safety and well-being of Imerys’ workforce. Every employee at the mine is empowered with “stop work authority” — the ability to halt operations on the spot if they identify a potential safety concern.
All of our employees have the ability to stop work, to say, ‘I don’t feel comfortable. It seems unsafe. Have we checked this out?’ So, the safety of our employees is first and foremost of everything we do.
Looking ahead, Rasmussen sees a bright future for the Lompoc operation. With ample reserves of high-quality DE and a culture of continuous innovation, he’s confident that the mine will continue to play a vital role in industries from beer to biotech for generations to come.
“We’re going to continue to be here for another hundred years plus,” he said. “We have sufficient reserves. We have high-quality reserves. We continue to innovate new products, and we’re continuing to add capacity in the product lines that need extra capacity.”
For Rasmussen, part of securing that future means investing in the next generation of talent. He’s actively involved in STEM education programs and internships aimed at exposing young people to the potential of careers in heavy industry — and challenging some of the misconceptions around mining and manufacturing.
“I wish that we were doing more in our education system so that young people would understand more about heavy manufacturing, heavy industry, mining — how it can coexist in a sustainable way, a clean forward environment, good jobs, great careers,” he reflected.
Of course, it’s not every facility tour that gets interrupted by the sonic boom of a SpaceX rocket launching from the nearby Air Force base. But for the team at Imerys, it’s just another day at the office — one that’s as extraordinary as the mineral they work with.
“Just another podcast recorded in an open-pit mine in the middle of a rocket launch,” Luecke quipped as the conversation wrapped. “Fantastic.”
To learn more about Imerys and the surprising world of diatomaceous earth, check out the full episode of Manufacturing Happy Hour wherever you get your podcasts. And for more stories of local manufacturing excellence, explore the Made Here series, a collaboration between Manufacturing Happy Hour and the Industrial Solutions Network.
