Clays Statistics and Information

Insights and data

Pictured: mudpot at Artists' Paintpots in Yellowstone National Park, USA

Statistics and information on the worldwide supply of, demand for, and material flow of ball clay, bentonite, common clay, fire clay, fuller's earth, and kaolin.

Overview

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.

Publications

Mineral Industry Surveys

Mineral Commodity Summaries

We are currently in the process of transitioning our datasets to the USGS ScienceBase platform to improve long-term accessibility, documentation, and version control. As part of that transition, we have temporarily paused public posting of our Minerals Yearbook (MYB) tables but will resume publication of them when the process is complete. Users subscribed to the automatic notification will be informed as each MYB becomes available. Thank you for your patience.