Molten Origins. Modern Solutions.™
Our pursuit at LavaTech is to be good stewards of what the earth provides us, as individuals and as a company. We believe stewardship involves the greatest use, best practices, and to minimize environmental impact.
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LAVA ROCK ORIGIN
MOST OF THE LAVA ROCK IN THE U.S. IS MINED FROM ANCIENT VOLCANOES OUT WEST. These rocks are formed when magma, the molten lava underground, flows from an active volcano and is exposed to air. This process creates an igneous rock or harden lava, also known as obsidian rock. However, the lava rock used for landscaping is unique because of its foam-like appearance. The gasses released during eruption penetrated the lava but did not escape before the rock was cooled, causing air pockets to form. This natural occurrence has left us a great resource we can utilize in a range of industries.
Learn more about how we make this extremely old material available for use today!
This natural occurrence has left us a great resource we can utilize in a range of industries
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According to the Perlite Institute released in 2023, the standard perlite manufacturing process produces as much as 4.0 lbs of carbon dioxide emissions per cubic foot.
According to the ESCSI Association’s Life Cycle Report released in 2015, the standard expanded shale, clay and slate manufacturing process produces as much as 7.4 lbs of carbon dioxide emissions per 25 liters.
Alternatively, our manufacturing process produces only 0.33 lbs of carbon dioxide emissions per 25 liters or 0.37 lbs of carbon dioxide emissions per cubic foot. This is 10 and 20 times less carbon dioxide emissions than the others!
We are proud to say our manufacturing process has the lowest carbon footprint in the soil amendment and hydroponic growing media industries
While other companies use coal-fired kilns or gas furnaces to melt and form their materials, ours is natural occurring, scoria amorphous silica that was created thousands of years ago.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Our business has the privilege of mining lava rock from these volcanic mountains and it is our mission to be good stewards of what the earth has provided us. We believe stewardship involves the greatest use, best practices, and minimal environmental impact.
- Pore Size
- Surface Area
- Less Dusty
- Lower pH
- Lightweight
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THE LAVA ROCK ADVANTAGE
But the advantage doesn’t stop there, here are three more benefits that come with using our lava rock material. It is far less dusty than alternative products, which eliminates the need to wear a mask. It also has a lower pH ranging from 8.5 to 8.9 in water, making it a perfect supplemental material to help balance any mix. And last but not least, our product is extremely lightweight at approximately 34-36lbs per 25-liter bag or 38-40lbs per cubic foot. This is not only an advantage for the soil structure and root system, but also the environmental impact of transporting the material.
Remember back when we talked about the air pockets formed in the rocks during the eruption phase? This unique characteristic is what makes these rocks superior for lawn and garden. The pore size found in our lava rocks are ideal for an optimum rate of exchange between air and water, allowing both to circulate throughout the medium and become readily available according to the plant’s growing needs. This feature ensures water conservation while simultaneously promoting plant health.
To give you an idea of how extremely porous our product ranks, it recently tested at 76% in total porosity with 20% Capillary and 56% Non-Capillary. During testing we also discovered it has a surface area between 7,800 and 8,500 square foot per cubic foot making our product one of the highest surface areas in the industry. This square footage provides ample room for biological microbes to live creating a perfect environment for healthy plant growth.
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RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
After years of research and testing, our team was able to determine the perfect size of rock for the greatest outcome per project.
This encouraged us to create a product line with a variation in material size to meet the needs of
all types of consumers.
Thanks to our state-of-the-art equipment, we are able to screen the mined material in order to accurately and efficiently separate the rocks by size. The process allows us to use all the material that is being manufactured with no waste left behind. Our products range from x to y and are available in bags or bulk. They can be purchased as individual units or by the pallet or truckload.
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NEXT STEPS
We hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about this one-of-a-kind natural resource. We encourage you to take the next step and contact us today. Together, let’s partner on your next project and let our passion become your success.
©2025 LavaTech, Inc.