A new inorganic adhesive based on sol-gel technology has been developed recently. The sol is produced by dissolving a mineral material, with silica as the major compound, in formic acid. In this work, the kinetics and mechanisms of the solid-liquid reaction of the amorphous mineral raw material with formic acid were studied. The effect of different variables, such as temperature, acid concentration, and fiber load, were examined. Moreover, the influence of various parameters on the gelation rate of the resulting sol was investigated at different temperatures. The dissolution of the mineral fiber was found to be strongly dependent on the temperature and fiber load, but moderately dependent on the acid concentration as the pH of the solution was buffered by the formic acid. The kinetic model developed for the dissolution process accurately describes the experimental results and can thus be used for design and optimization of the process. The gelation studies showed that the temperature and the amount dissolved are the variables most affecting the gelation time. The knowledge of the gelation kinetics is important when striving for a high dry solid content in the sol, while still avoiding premature gelation in production, transport, and storage.