Ball Clay

Ball Clay is a fine grained, highly plastic sedimentary clays, which fire to a light or near white colour. They are used mainly in the manufacture of ceramic whiteware and are valued for their key properties of plasticity, unfired strength and their light fired colour. Ball clays exhibit highly variable compositions and consist of a mixture, primarily of kaolinite, mica and quartz, with each contributing different properties to the clay. The crystallinity of the key component, kaolinite, has a marked influence on ceramic performance. Ball clay acts as a binding agent and contributes to plasticity, workability and strength in a pre-fired ceramic body. Ball clay is relatively scarce globally because of the unusual combination of geological factors required for their formation and subsequent preservation. The UK is a leading world producer and exporter of high quality ball clays and production peaked at over a million tonnes in 2000.

Ball Clay is almost entirely used as ceramic raw materials for sanitaryware, wall and floor tiles and tableware. It is combined with other ingredients such as kaolin, silica sand and flux and blending is essential to optimise clay use and to consistently meet customer specifications. For the sanitaryware market some products are refined to remove impurities and these are sold in both slurried and dried forms. Please contact us on 01782 838 428, or email us at admin@furlongmills.co.uk.

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