My name is Davit Sharashidze, and I am the CEO of Guria Mineral Resources Group (GMRG). The main focus of our company is the mining industry. It is a great honor for me to introduce to Business Hub readers the activities of our company, the results we have achieved today, and the dignified historical path that has brought us to this point.
Family-owned bentonite mine and its difficult period of closed Soviet economy
The history of bentonite in the Guria region begins in 1946, when in the village of Mtispiri, Ozurgeti, academician Aleksandre Tvalchrelidze and my grandfather, Mr. Davit Sharashidze, opened a bentonite clay deposit. The plant operated successfully until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and supplied bentonite clay products to all republics of the USSR.
Particularly noteworthy is the 1970s, when Fiat entered the Soviet Union. For their molding processes, high-quality bentonite was essential. As a result of extensive research and testing, Italian specialists gave preference specifically to Georgian bentonite. However, due to the closed system of the Soviet era, the European market at that time did not really get the chance to become fully acquainted with the unique properties of Georgian bentonite.
This story became a huge motivation for us – for my father, Mr. Tengiz Sharashidze, and for me – to revive this already conserved, forgotten, naturally unique bentonite production and to introduce Georgian premium bentonite to our European partners.
Recovery of the mine and entrance to the polish market
In 2010, my father and me laid the foundations for the revival of the bentonite clay sector in Georgia. Just a few years after the mine was reopened, the first European export of bentonite clay in the history of Georgia was carried out – to Poland. That is why close cooperation with Poland is doubly honorable and strategically important for us. Over the years, we have built strong, long-term business relationships in Poland, which have significantly contributed to the development of our company.
In 2023, our team has regained and rehabilitated a historically important plant, that had been conserved under the ownership of a foreign corporation. A complete modernization of the facility was carried out and the latest generation of equipment was installed. This technological upgrade ensured a consistently superior quality of our products. Today, the legacy begun by our ancestors is being successfully continued under the leadership of a new generation.
The Georgian bentonite clay – highest quality on the Euroasiatic continent
Guria Mineral Resources Group (GMRG) is focused on the extraction and processing of premium-class Georgian bentonite clay. Our bentonite stands out with exceptional properties and is considered one of the highest-quality raw materials on the Eurasian continent, with qualitative indicators identical to the bentonite clays of the U.S. state of Wyoming:
- Montmorillonite content above 90%,
- High strength and thermal stability,
- High cation-exchange capacity,
- Outstanding viscosity,
- Excellent binding and adsorptive properties.
Comprehansive use in industry sector
Thanks to these characteristics, our bentonite is widely used in various industries, including:
- Metallurgy – as a molding material,
- Drilling operations,
- Civil engineering and construction,
- Animal feed additives,
- Paint production,
- Wine and juice filtration,
- Cat litter production,
- Encapsulation (sarcophagi) of toxic waste,
- Paper production,
- Filtration of petroleum products,
- Agriculture.
Based on many years of specialized experience in production and sales, we are committed to supplying high-quality bentonite products to the countries around the world with efficient and reliable logisticsę.
New technologies and standard of the highest quality
Building on the successful traditions of bentonite production in Guria region, GMRG integrates modern technologies and innovative approaches at every stage of its operations. This integrated vision enables us to offer our clients a full range of products.
- Raw bentonite clay
- Granulated bentonite
- Finely milled bentonite powder
Our cooperation with the partners is built on responsibility, transparency and the strictest adherence to international quality standards. The GMRG team brings together highly qualified specialists with decades of practical experience in bentonite production. This deep expertise is combined with modern engineering and global logistics. It is precisely this integrated approach that allows us to offer our clients competitive prices and reliable delivery times to various destinations around the world.
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The potential of primary industry of Georgia
Our strategic goal is to maximally develop the mining industry in Georgia, fully meet the demands of the international market and strengthen the country’s role in global industrial value chains.
In addition to bentonite, Georgia has other mineral resources, that are highly attractive from an investment perspective – among them barite, white kaolin, and trachyte. In cooperation with various research universities and audit firms, under the leadership of Guria Mineral Resources Group, systematic studies and analyses of their potential are underway.
I would like to express my gratitude to the entire team of the Katowice Chamber of Commerce and Industry for raising awareness about Georgian mineral resources and for supporting new opportunities on the European market. It is particularly valuable and pleasant for us, that an important part of this story is connected with Poland and Polish companies. We are confident, that in the future we will further strengthen our position on the European market.
Contact:
Davit Sharashidze
CEO Guria Mineral Resources Group (GMRG)
info@bentonit.ge (995) 568 777 222
Georgia, Ozurgeti, 20 Chokhatauri St.
Aleksandra Monsiol-Szatkowska
Director of the International Cooperation Office RIG in Katowice
aszatkowska@rig.katowice.pl
The article was featured in the December issue of „Business HUB” magazine: READ HERE.