An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Statistics and information on the worldwide supply of, demand for, and flow of the mineral commodities ball clay, bentonite, common clay, fire clay, fuller's earth, and kaolin.
Six types of clays are mined in the United States: ball clay, bentonite, common clay, fire clay, fuller's earth, and kaolin. Mineral composition, plasticity, color, absorption qualities, firing characteristics, and clarification properties are a few of the characteristics used to distinguish between the different clay types. Major domestic markets for these clays are as follows: sanitaryware and ceramic tile for ball clays; absorbents, drilling mud, foundry sand bonding agent, and iron ore pelletizing for bentonite; brick, lightweight aggregate, and portland cement clinker for common clay and shale; refractories for fire clay; absorbents for fuller's earth; and paper and refractory markets for kaolin.
Subscribe to receive an email notification when a new publication is added to this page. On the Questions tab of the subscriber preferences page, please select "Clays" and any other options in which you may be interested. Please see the list services page for more information.