Company history

Established in 1932, Goonvean has remained privately owned by a Cornish family for over 70 years, utilising the natural resources found on the family’s land.

In 1995 Goonvean purchased additional reserves and doubled its capacity. We are now the largest private kaolin, or china clay, producer in Europe. But at Goonvean nothing stands still, as our history proves. We were the first in the industry to gain ISO quality accreditation and the first to adopt high intensity magnetic separation technology. Identifying opportunities to improve the way we work is an ongoing activity.

In 2000 the company embarked on a long-term investment programme to ensure we continue to provide the exceptional products and services that Goonvean customers have come to expect.

This investment in our future commenced with new refining and blending plants incorporating a sophisticated 'state of the art' computer controlled kaolin processing facility. The current investment is in new wet mining and separation facilities. Goonvean’s success to date is rooted in flexibility and adding value, and continual improvements ensure we consistently meet the very precise needs of each customer.

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