Porcelain, paper and the white stuff…

摘要

In Eighteenth Century Europe, there was a penchant for the fine white porcelain imported from China. The composition of the porcelain made at the Jingdezhen potteries in Jiangxi Province was eventually identified by Europeans as a fine white clay mined at the nearby village of Gaoling, hence the name kaolin, or 'China' clay. Similar deposits were sought in Europe and this led to the discovery of the kaolin deposits in Cornwall in southwest England. Today, kaolin (consisting predominantly of the hydrated aluminosilicate mineral kaolinite) is mined throughout the world and is a multi-million dollar industry. Ceramics, with a 16 percent market share, remains important but the main use of the processed product is for paper filling and coating (45 percent). Other important applications are in paint, rubber, plastics and sealants (10 percent), refractories (15 percent), fibreglass (6 percent) and others (8 percent).