Whiter Clays and Grinding Capacity:

Two problems solved in one place!

This is at the Whitemud Resources metakaolin (MK) site midway between Scout Lake and Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan. They mine ore that is separated into kaolin (reject material is silica sand) then dehydroxylated into metakaolin; an SCM (Supplementary Cementing Material), MK itself is a natural aluminosilicate pozzolan. They have a giant plant (the dome is big enough to play soccer in) and are capable of processing incredible volumes. The mining face in their quarry appears to have the same layers as Ravenscrag. But, there are very fortunate differences:
-This deposit is near Flintoft, these clays will be much purer and whiter than those in the Ravenscrag quarry (pending testing, of course).
-Plainsman needs what is above the coal seam, they need what is below (their garbage is pottery gold).
-The layers appear to be the same as those in the existing quarry.
-Their grinding plant is capable of micron-sizes and is gigantic.
-Their by-product is silica sand!
-They are working on a mining plan for August extraction.
This is close to a "marriage made in heaven". It is certainly going in the direction of enabling improving product quality. And hopefully, soon an all-Canadian porcelain.

Related Pictures

Better clay deposits further east

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An update of the book "Clay Resources of Saskatchewan". The cover photo is titled "Kaolinized sand of the Whitemud Formation". The writers are lamenting the underutilization of this resource and almost pleading for industry to recognize its value! The cover shows the mining face at the historic Claybank brick plant. This clay is far whiter than what Painsman Clays mines at Ravenscrag, Sask (about 250km west of this). This site was mined from the 1800s to 1970s. Bricks were made in half a dozen large beehive kilns and, even though reduction-fired with gas, they burned far too white. The company increased reduction to the point that soot formed on the bricks to darken the color and turn them brown!

I am finally listening and rediscovering how much whiter and more pure clays are further east in Saskatchewan (compared to the current mining site in the west). This hill is kaolinized sand, that sand can be removed to produce a Canadian raw kaolin that could replace much the hundreds of thousands of tons that are currently imported each year from Georgia, USA.

El Dorado of Pottery Clay Finally Found!

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It has been five years since getting and testing samples of an amazing porcelain-like, clean-burning, highly plastic middle-temperature stoneware raw material from south central Saskatchewan. It is far superior to anything seen till now. But, due to mix-ups, it appeared its location had been lost! But coming here to search again has turned up new information and I am quite certain this is the site (at Flintoft, Saskatchewan). Seeing and walking it has confirmed, contrary to the information I had, that the site is highly suitable for extraction (previous mine workings to the left are not shown). And, it is not the only site in the area. The Whitemud clays here are quite different from those in the Ravenscrag quarry, they are so good they obsolete almost everything there (except perhaps PR3D). On seeing the range and quality, I am beyond excited! There are a lot of ducks that have to be lined up to be able to actually extract from a site like this, but the location has a lot of advantages. The current economic realities will be a powerful motivator to developing Canadian clay sources.

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