Ball clay

Four companies — H.C. Spinks Clay Co., Inc., Imerys Group, Old Hickory Clay Co., and Unimin Corp. — mined ball clay in four states in 2011. Production, on the basis of preliminary data, was 940 kt (1.04 million st) with an estimated value of $44.2 million. This is a 3-percent increase in tonnage from 912 kt (1.01 million st) with a value of $41.3 million that was produced in 2010. Tennessee was the leading producing state with 63 percent of domestic production, followed by Texas, Mississippi and Kentucky. About 69 percent of production was airfloat, 20 percent was crude and 11 percent was water-slurried.