Another Saskatchewan Outrop:

We need to pay more attention

This one is saying: "I am the whitest kaolin in Saskatchewan. And, I am so plastic that even though I am mixed with 50% sand, I can be modelled and formed with no problem. Just remove the sand and you will have a world-class kaolin that is Canadian". W. G. Worster, called these kaolinized sands, which can be found in south central part of the province, "splendid". This outcrop is in Halbrite, a small town southeast of Weyburn. There are lots of other deposits, especially in the Wood Mountain, Flintoft and Claybank area that are also much whiter than anything we currently can get in Ravenscrag. But this one is king so far. Should we keep importing from Georgia or develop our own Canadian kaolin?

Related Pictures

An All-Canadian Fine Ball Clay is in Sight!

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On the right is Plainsman A2 ball clay with 35% nepheline syenite added to vitrify it around cone 6 (these bars are fired at cone 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 - top to bottom). Using our grinding equipment, we can process it to 42 mesh, as we have done since the 1970s. On the left is a Flintoft ball clay (cone 10R top and 10, 9, 8, etc - top to bottom). But this is the raw material, just slaked (not ground). It reaches zero porosity at cone 6 without a feldspar addition (because Mother Nature has added it for us). And the plasticity? This ball clay dry shrinks 9%, it is super plastic, much more than the A2/feldspar mix. While nearby deposits also contain refractory ball clays, this one is truly something special. It enables not just highly plastic vitreous stonewares but it fires white enough to be a potential ingredient in an All-Canadian plastic cone 6 porcelain. In an unexpected turn of events, we now have the opportunity to get this clay in a way that is much easier than expected. We have tested mixing this with PR3D, the best material in our Ravenscrag quarry - together the two can make killer clay bodies!

Landmark Book on the Clay Resources of Saskatchewan

Book cover and picture of Prof Worcestor

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Written by W. G. Worcester and published in 1950. He was the first head of the University of Saskatchewan’s one-man Department of Ceramic Engineering and had a lab equipped with clay processing and testing equipment that many would admire today! He outlines clay geology in general, then the geological history of the province of Saskatchewan in that context. He describes the technology of ceramic materials, the major clays used in industry and the equivalent materials in the province. He submits hundreds of samples with physical test data clearly describing them and their locations (using extensive maps and diagrams). His work inspired Luke Lindoe, who continued it during the 1950s to 1970s. That inspired us to develop the testing methods used at Plainsman Clays to this day. And it gave us several clay quarries that have served the company for 50 years. It also alerts us that there of clay of much higher quality further east.

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