We have been overlooking better clay deposits

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!

We are finally listening and rediscovering how much whiter and more pure clays are further east in Saskatchewan (compared to our 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.

Related Pictures

Landmark book on the clay resources of Saskatchewan - 1950

Book cover and picture of Prof Worcestor

This picture has its own page with more detail, click here to see it.

Written by W. C. Worcester. He 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.

A kaolinized sand that is highly plastic and white burning

This proves we can have a Canadian kaolin

This picture has its own page with more detail, click here to see it.

This is kaolinized sand from Flintoft, Saskatchewan. It is among clays we are currently rediscovering. Unlike the one in our mine at Ravenscrag, this one has excellent plasticity when water is added (notice the texture of the plastic material in the close-up photo on the upper left). This dries quickly with low shrinkage (the DFAC test disk upper right shows perfect performance). Consider highlights of physical tests to characterize this material (data shown lower left):
-Super refractory (thus pure). The SHAB test bars (lower right from cone 10R and 10 down to 6 oxidation) correspond to the SHAB test results in the chart. Even at cone 10, this has an amazing 19% porosity. With almost zero shrinkage.
-White burning: The top bar is reduction-fired yet barely darker than the one below it at the same temperature in oxidation (indicating low iron content).
-Low soluble salts (upper right).
-Centre-bottom: G1947U clear glaze on it fired at cone 10R.
I compared this with about 10 other clays in the area, doing the same for all of them, preserving a treasure trove of data for clays we have been overlooking.

Videos

Links

URLs	https://claybankbrick.ca/ Claybank Brick Plant National Historic Site A refractory brick manufacturer, cradled in the Dirt Hills of Southern Saskatchewan, for 75 years (from 1914-1989).

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