Over the course of its storied 171-year life , EP Minerals has grown to become one of the more exciting and progressive industrial minerals companies in the United States — and it ’ s just getting better .

Founded in 1843 by Edgar and Stephen Conkling , the company originally went by the name Eagle . In 1916 , Judge Oliver Picher merged the company with his own lead mining business to create Eagle- Picher Lead , the forerunner of modern day EP Minerals .

In the years since , the ambitious minerals company has acquired a series of highly valuable assets , such as a large diatomaceous earth ( DE ) deposit and factory in Clark , Nevada . In 1959 , the company commissioned a DE producing plant in Lovelock , Nevada , which remains the largest DE producing plant in the world to this day .

That plant was upgraded in 1993 with a perlite expander , officially bringing the company into the perlite business . A new DE plant was built and commissioned in Vale ,

68 February 2015

Mining Magazine February 2015 | Page 68

Over the course of its storied 171-year life , EP Minerals has grown to become one of the more exciting and progressive industrial minerals companies in the United States — and it ’ s just getting better .