Industrial clays in the 21st century: A perspective of exploration, technology and utilization

Traditionally the exploration techniques required to locate and prove industrial clay resources have been relatively unsophisticated with readily accessible surface resources providing the bulk of the world's requirements. As the century draws to a close, the major exploited resources of the developed world are becoming increasingly challenged by many high quality resources located in developing nations. Environmental regulations may also inhibit mining and mineral processing in Europe and in North America. We project that in the 21st century the emphasis in exploration will be in the developing nations, and the level of sophistication in exploration methods will increase. During the 20th century the processing of industrial clay resources in the developed world has evolved from low technology operations to highly sophisticated chemical and engineering processes. The trends are towards finer particle size, higher purity and surface modification to both permit their more specialized application in industry and to resist the challenges from other natural and synthetic minerals. These trends will continue into the 21st century.