PCC Markets - Paper  Uncoated Wood-Free Printing and Writing Papers  –  North America . Beginning in the mid-1980's, as a result of a concentrated  research and development effort, the Company's satellite PCC plants facilitated the conversion of a substantial percentage of North  American uncoated wood-free printing and writing paper producers to lower-cost alkaline papermaking technology. The Company  estimates that during 2013, more than 90% of North American uncoated wood-free paper was produced employing alkaline  technology. Presently, the Company owns and operates 16 commercial satellite PCC plants located at paper mills that produce  uncoated wood-free printing and writing papers in North America. Uncoated Wood-Free Printing and Writing Papers  –  Outside North America. The Company estimates the amount of uncoated  wood-free printing and writing papers produced outside of North America at facilities that can be served by satellite and merchant  PCC plants is more than twice as large (measured in tons of paper produced) as the North American uncoated wood-free paper market  currently served by the Company. The Company believes that the superior brightness, opacity and bulking characteristics offered by  its PCC products allow it to compete with suppliers of ground limestone and other filler products outside of North America. Presently, the Company owns and operates 23 commercial satellite PCC plants located at paper mills that produce uncoated wood-free  printing and writing papers outside of North America.  Uncoated Groundwood Paper . The uncoated groundwood paper market, including newsprint, represents approximately 20% of  worldwide paper production. Paper mills producing wood-containing paper still generally employ acid papermaking technology. The  conversion to alkaline technology by these mills has been hampered by the tendency of wood-containing papers to darken in an  alkaline environment. The Company has developed proprietary application technology for the manufacture of high-quality  groundwood paper in an acidic environment using PCC (AT$^{®}$ PCC). Furthermore, as groundwood or wood-containing paper mills use  larger quantities of recycled fiber, there is a trend toward the use of neutral papermaking technology in this segment for which the  Company presently supplies traditional PCC chemistries. The Company now supplies PCC at 10 groundwood paper mills around the  world and licenses its technology to a ground calcium carbonate producer to help accelerate the conversion from acid to alkaline  papermaking.  Coated Paper . The Company continues to pursue satellite PCC opportunities in coated paper markets where our products provide  unique performance and/or cost reduction benefits to papermakers and printers. Our Opacarb product line is designed to create value  to the papermaker and can be used alone or in combination with other coating pigments. PCC coating products are produced at 8 of  the Company's PCC plants worldwide.  Specialty PCC Products and Markets Processed Minerals - Products and Markets The Company also produces and sells a full range of dry PCC products on a merchant basis for non-paper applications. The  Company's Specialty PCC product line net sales were $67.2 million, $65.9 million and $63.6 million for the years ended December  31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. The Company sells surface-treated and untreated grades of PCC to the polymer industry for  use in automotive and construction applications, and to the adhesives and printing inks industries. The Company's PCC is also used  by the food and pharmaceutical industries as a source of calcium in tablets and food applications, as a buffering agent in tablets, and as  a mild abrasive in toothpaste. The Company produces PCC for specialty applications from production sites at Adams, Massachusetts  and Lifford, England.  The Company mines and processes natural mineral products, primarily limestone and talc. The Company also manufactures lime,  a limestone-based product. The Company's net sales of processed mineral products were $122.6  million, $116.0 million and $115.5  million for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. Net sales of talc products were $50.9 million, $48.1  million and $46.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. Net sales of ground calcium carbonate  ("GCC") products, which are principally lime and limestone, were $71.7 million, $67.9 million and $68.6 million for the years ended  December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. The Company mines and processes GCC products at its reserves in the eastern and western parts of the United States. GCC is used  and sold in the construction, automotive and consumer markets.  Lime produced at the Company's Adams, Massachusetts, and Lifford, United Kingdom, facilities is used primarily as a raw  material for the manufacture of PCC at these sites and is sold commercially to various chemical and other industries.  The Company mines, beneficiates and processes talc at its Barretts site, located near Dillon, Montana. Talc is sold worldwide in  finely ground form for ceramic applications and in North America for paint and coatings and polymer applications. Because of the  exceptional chemical purity of the Barretts ore, a significant portion of worldwide automotive catalytic converter ceramic substrates  contain the Company's Barretts talc.  4 