The French Paul Dhé was the first with the idea to extrude fibers from basalt; he was granted a U.S. patent in 1923.

 

Around 1960, both the U.S. and the Soviet Union (USSR) began to investigate basalt fiber applications, particularly in the military field. In 1970 U.S. glass companies imposed research strategies that favored glass fiber rather than basalt fiber, while in Eastern Europe research was nationalized by the USSR's Defense Ministry.

 

After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, the results of Soviet research were declassified and made available for civilian applications.

 

Today, basalt fiber research, production and most marketing efforts are principally based in some of countries once part of the Soviet Union (Georgia, Ukraine, the same Russia) and in China.

 

Basalt fiber: from earth an ancient material for innovative and modern application by Piero De Fazio