Chapter 2. Quality Control in Mining and Processing Ball Clays
- William M. Carty
Published Online: 26 MAR 2008
DOI: 10.1002/9780470294673.ch2
Copyright © 2001 The American Ceramic Society
Book Title
Materials & Equipment/Whitewares: Ceramic Engineering and Science Proceedings, Volume 22, Issue 2
Additional Information
How to Cite
McCuistion, J. T. (2008) Quality Control in Mining and Processing Ball Clays, in Materials & Equipment/Whitewares: Ceramic Engineering and Science Proceedings, Volume 22, Issue 2 (ed W. M. Carty), John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ, USA. doi: 10.1002/9780470294673.ch2
Publication History
- Published Online: 26 MAR 2008
- Published Print: 1 JAN 2001
Book Series:
ISBN Information
Print ISBN: 9780470375723
Online ISBN: 9780470294673
- Summary
- Chapter
Keywords:
- ball clays;
- quality control;
- mining;
- drilling;
- blending
Summary
The quality control of ball clay products can be broken down into four steps: drilling, mine sampling, blending, and final product testing. Drilling enables the generation of detailed mine maps and plans that aid in mining individual clays in a controlled fashion. Mine sampling is performed as the clay is being mined as a second check on the mining process. Blending helps to dampen small-scale variations inherent to individual clays. Final product testing is performed while the clay is being processed and guards against out-of-spec material being shipped. Computerized mine planning is central to the quality control process. Three-dimensional models of each deposit are generated. Tools such as volume calculations, cross-sections, and isopach (layer thickness) maps are extracted from this model to guide the mining and stockpiling process.