Alumina Calcined
$5.00 for 1kg
Minerals
-
-
Ball Clay
$7.50 for 2kg
Read about this productDeposited in marshy areas.
Very fine particle size, high plasticity, high drying shrinkage, high in organic contaminates.
Fires white or off-white.What is Ball Clay?
Ball clay is an extremely rare mineral found in very few places around the world. Its name dates back to the early methods of mining when specialized hand tools were used to extract the clay in rough cube shapes of about 30 cm. As the corners were knocked through handling and storage these cubes became rounded and ‘ball’ shaped. It also is sometimes referred to as plastic clay.
Ball clays are sedimentary in origin. Ancient rivers and streams washed kaolinite (formed from decomposed granite) from its parent rock. As the streams flowed from upland area they mixed with other clay minerals, sands, gravels and vegetation before settling in low-lying basins to form overlaying seams of ball clay. Ball clays usually contain three dominant minerals: from 20-80% kaolinite, 10-25% mica, and 6-65% quartz. In addition, there are other ‘accessory’ minerals and some carbonaceous material (derived from ancient plants) present. The wide variation both in mineral composition and in the size of the clay particles results in different characteristics for individual clay seams within a deposit.
Ball clay is extracted using mechanical equipment, of which the most popular are hydraulic “back-hoe” excavators, that work as “benches” cut into the quarry to access the seams of clay. Individual raw clay selections are blended carefully according to pre-determined recipes to provide a product with a consistent and predictable range of characteristics and behavior. The first stage in processing then is to shred (or ‘kibble’) the blended clay into smaller, more regular lumps about the size of a golf ball. Much blended clay is sold in this shredded form. Further processing through drying and grinding yields powdered plastic clays and ceramics manufacturers (particularly in the sanitaryware sector) also have benefited from the development of refined ball clays which offer improved performance and reduced manufacturing process costs. Refined clays are available in ‘noodled’ and slurried form. Ball clays also are sold in a partially dried form, which consist of golf ball size materials that are not powdered. Internationally, deposits of high quality ball clay are much rarer than those of kaolin.
A vital material in ceramics - Ball clays are used in many different industries, but in particular form a vital component in ceramic manufacturing. Kaolin (‘china clay’) produces a very white color when it is fired, but used alone it is brittle and weak and must be mixed with ball clay to produce a workable, malleable raw material. As a result of their sedimentary origin, raw ball clays have a wide range of colors. However, many of them are valued by the ceramics industry for their white-firing properties, which are determined by the levels of iron and other coloring/fluxing oxides within the clay.
-
Ball Clay
$4.00 for 1kg
Read about this productDeposited in marshy areas.
Very fine particle size, high plasticity, high drying shrinkage, high in organic contaminates.
Fires white or off-white. -
Bentonite
$4.50 for 1kg
Read about this productMontmoricconiticclay fomed from decomposition of airborne volcanic ash.
Finest particle size of all clays.
Plasticizer (three times as powerful as ball clay) suspension agent, should be used in quantities of no more than 3% of dry materials weight.
Bentonite is an absorbent aluminium phyllosilicate, generally impure clay consisting mostly of montmorillonite. There are different types of bentonites and their names depend on the dominant elements, such as potassium (K), sodium (Na), calcium (Ca), and aluminum (Al). As noted in several places in the geologic literature, there are some nomenclatorial problems with the classification of bentonite clays. Bentonite usually forms from weathering of volcanic ash, most often in the presence of water. However, the term bentonite, as well as a similar clay called tonstein, have been used for clay beds of uncertain origin. For industrial purposes, two main classes of bentonite exist: sodium and calcium bentonite. In stratigraphy and tephrochronology, completely devitrified (weathered volcanic glass) ash-fall beds are commonly referred to as K-bentonites when the dominant clay species is illite. Other common clay species, and sometimes dominant, are montmorillonite and kaolinite. Kaolinite dominated clays are commonly referred to as tonsteins and are typically associated with coal.Sodium bentonite
Sodium bentonite expands when wet, possibly absorbing several times its dry mass in water. Because of its excellent colloidal properties it is often used in drilling mud for oil and gas wells and for geotechnical and environmental investigations.
The property of swelling also makes sodium bentonite useful as a sealant, especially for the sealing of subsurface disposal systems for spent nuclear fuel and for quarantining metal pollutants of groundwater. Similar uses include making slurry walls, waterproofing of below-grade walls and forming other impermeable barriers: e.g., to seal off the annulus of a water well, to plug old wells, or as a liner in the base of landfills to prevent migration of leachate.
Sodium bentonite can also be “sandwiched” between synthetic materials to create geo-synthetic clay liners (GCL) for the aforementioned purposes. This technique allows for more convenient transport and installation and it greatly reduces the volume of sodium bentonite required.
Various surface modifications to sodium bentonite improve some rheological or sealing performance in geoenviromental applications, for example the addition of polymers.
[edit]Calcium bentoniteCalcium bentonite is a useful adsorbent of ions in solution.[2][3] as well as fats and oils, being a main active ingredient of fuller’s earth, probably one of the earliest industrial cleaning agents.[4] Calcium bentonite may be converted to sodium bentonite (termed sodium beneficiation or sodium activation) to exhibit many of sodium bentonite’s properties by a process known as “ion exchange” (patented in 1935 by Germans U Hofmann and K Endell). Commonly this means adding 5-10% of a soluble sodium salt such as sodium carbonate to wet bentonite, mixing well, and allowing time for the ion exchange to take place and water to remove the exchanged calcium.[citation needed] Some properties, such as viscosity and fluid loss of suspensions, of sodium beneficiated calcium bentonite (or sodium activated bentonite) may not be fully equivalent to natural sodium bentonite.[5] For example, residual calcium carbonates (formed if exchanged cations are insufficiently removed) may result in inferior performance of the bentonite in geosynthetic liners[6]
-
Bone Ash
$25.50 for 1kg
Read about this productBone ash is the white, powdery ash left from the burning (calcination) of bones.
It is primarily composed of calcium phosphate. It is commonly used in fertilizers, polishing compounds, and in making ceramics (such as bone china).
It also has historical uses in the manufacture of baking powders and assay cupels.
Although synthetic alternatives have been produced (synthetic tri- or dicalcium phosphates), the majority of bone china is still made using natural bone ash[citation needed].
Synthetic bone ash has also found use as a mold release agent for the casting of non-ferrous metals such as copper. -
Calcium carbonate - Whiting Calcite
$4.00 for 1kg
Read about this productCalcium carbonate is known as whiting in ceramics/glazing applications, where it is used as a common ingredient for many glazes in its white powdered form.
When a glaze containing this material is fired in a kiln, the whiting acts as a flux material in the glaze.Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula CaCO3. It is a common substance found in rock in all parts of the world, and is the main component of shells of marine organisms, snails, pearls, and eggshells. Calcium carbonate is the active ingredient in agricultural lime, and is usually the principal cause of hard water. It is commonly used medicinally as a calcium supplement or as an antacid, but excessive consumption can be hazardous.
-
China Clay - Kaolin
$6.00 for 1kg
Read about this productVery refractory white primary white clay, essential ingredient of porcelain and whiteware, less plastic than most other clays.
China clay is kaolinised feldspar - they are highly valued for their whiteness, hence their use in bone china.
Pure kaolin is necessary for the manufacture of porcelain and other fine china; impure varieties are used in making pottery, stoneware, and bricks; as filler for pigments; and in the manufacture of paper.Kaolin - what it is:
The chief constituent of kaolin is the clay mineral kaolinite, a hydrous aluminium silicate, Al4Si4O10(OH)8, formed by the decomposition of aluminium silicates, particularly feldspar.
Kaolin - where it is found:
Kaolin is now mined primarily in Malaysia and in Cornwall, England. China clays were first discovered in England in the 1740s. In England the china clays are found near St Austell, on western flanks of Dartmoor and on the western and southern parts of Bodmin Moor. The quarrying technique is unusual. High pressure hoses are directed at the wall of the clay pits. The fine clay forms a slurry and is washed down. Most of the impurities are left behind.
Kaolin - how it is used:
China clays have poor plasticity so they are often used in conjunction with additives - usually ball clay and bentonite. As a general rule china clays are quicker to cast than sedimentary clays. They are highly valued for their whiteness, hence their use in bone china. Shrinkage of clays fired at 1300ºC is about 12%.
CHINESE ORIGINS
Kaolin (Chinese kauling, “high ridge”), or china clay, a pure, soft, white clay of variable but usually low plasticity that retains its white colour when fired.
The name derives from the hill—in Jiangxi Province, south-eastern China—from which the clay was first obtained. It was the Chinese who, in the 7th and 8th centuries AD, first developed the techniques for using kaolin to make porcelain. Europeans began importing Chinese porcelain in the 14th century, but it was not until the early 18th century that they were able to reproduce its much-prized hardness, whiteness, and translucency for themselves. -
Colemanite
$7.50 for 500g
-
Colemanite
$14.50 for 1kg
Read about this productColemanite (CaB3O4(OH)3·H2O) is a borate mineral found in evaporite deposits of alkaline lacustrine environments.
Colemanite is a secondary mineral that forms by alteration of borax and ulexite.
It was first described in 1884 for an occurrence near Furnace Creek in Death Valley and was named after William Tell Coleman (1824-1893), owner of the mine Harmony Borax Works where it was first found. -
Cornish Stone
$12.50 for 1kg
Read about this productChina stone is a medium grained, feldspar-rich partially decomposed granite characterized by the absence of iron-bearing minerals. Its mineral content includes quartz, feldspar and mica; accessory minerals include kaolinite and fluorspar. It is found in one area of Cornwall in the United Kingdom and is the UK’s only indigenous source of feldspathic material currently being commercially extracted. Production levels in the four years up to 2003 averaged 2,800 tonnes per year.
Other names include Cornish or Cornwall stone. It is sometimes confused with petuntse, which although somewhat similar, is a different rock.K2O/Na2O/CaO×Al2O3×10SiO2—HT feldspathic alkaline flux containing calcium and potassium, but more refractory than potash feldspars. Substitution eight parts potash feldspar, two parts silica, one part kaolin. Toxic in inhalation.
-
Defloculant - 250ml
$10.00 for 250ml
-
Defloculant - 50ml
$5.00 for 50ml
-
Dolomite
$4.00 for 1kg
-
Dolomite
$7.25 for 1kg
-
Feldspar Potash
$60.00 for 25kg
-
Feldspar Potash
$8.00 for 2kg
-
Feldspar Potash
$4.50 for 1kg
-
Feldspar Soda CM
$4.00 for 1kg
-
Gillesoie Borate
$12.50 for 500g
-
Grog - Course (0.5/1.00mm) - 1kg
$5 for 1kg
-
Grog - Course (0.5/1.00mm) - 5kg
$20.00 for 5kg
-
Grog - Fine
$5.00 for 1kg
-
Grog - Medium
$52.50 for 25kg
Read about this productCrushed hard-fired clay, a source of grit for clay bodies.
Graded in size from 15 mesh (very course) to 150 mesh (extra fine).
Does not shrink in firing, so medium to course grades will show texture through thin to medium glaze.
Added to clay bodies to reduce shrinkage and give structure for throwing or hand building. -
Grog Medium
$5.00 for 1kg
-
Gum Arabic
$8.50 for 100g
-
Illmenite - Fine
$6.50 for 250g
-
Kiln Props - 25mm
$4.00 for 1
-
Magnesium Carbonate
$11.50 for 500g
-
Molochite 200
$6.50 for 1kg
-
Nepheline Syenite
$6.00 for 1kg
Read about this productNephelene syenite is a holocrystalline plutonic rock that consists largely of nepheline and alkali feldspar.
The rocks are mostly pale colored, grey or pink, and in general appearance they are not unlike granites, but dark green varieties are also known.
Phonolite is the fine-grained extrusive equivalent. -
Petalite
$12.00 for 1kg
-
Plaster - Fastset (Red)
$20.00 for 20kg
Read about this productGeneral purpose, quick setting gypsum based plaster for use in moulding.
Time to Set 5 - 10 mins.Mixing Instructions:
(1) Ensure mixing equipment and water are clean. Water temperature between approx 15-20C.
(2) Approx 1.3 to 1.4 litres of water to 2kg of powder.
(3) Add plaster to water and leave to soak for approx 2 mins.
(4) Mix to desired consistency. Try and avoid air bubbles during mixing.Casting:
(1) Shape the mould using suitable material.
(2) Coat the mould with a mould release agent.
(3) Pour the mixed plaster into the mould with tapping or vibration to minimise any air bubbles.
(4) Allow the plaster to set.Mould Release Agents:
Porous mould materials require release agents to prevent adhesion of the plaster to the mould.
Typically these may comprise of two coats of a petroleum jelly, Stearic acid (1 part) /kerosene (2 part) mixture, special ‘soaps’ or quick drying lacquers
. -
Plaster - Utility Superfine Casting (Pink)
$30.00 for 20kg
Read about this productFine ground pure gypsum based plaster for use in moulding.
Time to Set 20 - 40 mins.Mixing Instructions:
(1) Ensure mixing equipment and water are clean. Water temperature between approx 15-20C.
(2) Approx 1.3 to 1.4 litres of water to 2kg of powder.
(3) Add plaster to water and leave to soak for approx 2 mins.
(4) Mix to desired consistency. Try and avoid air bubbles during mixing.Casting:
(1) Shape the mould using suitable material.
(2) Coat the mould with a mould release agent.
(3) Pour the mixed plaster into the mould with tapping or vibration to minimise any air bubbles.
(4) Allow the plaster to set.Mould Release Agents:
Porous mould materials require release agents to prevent adhesion of the plaster to the mould.
Typically these may comprise of two coats of a petroleum jelly, Stearic acid (1 part) /kerosene (2 part) mixture, special ‘soaps’ or quick drying lacquers
. -
Plaster Mould Casting
$6.5 for 2.5kg
-
Rubber Latex Liquid
$11.00 for 200ml
-
Silica 200 (1kg)
$3.00 for 1kg
Read about this productThe chemical compound silicon dioxide, also known as silica (from the Latin silex), is an oxide of silicon with a chemical formula of SiO2 and has been known for its hardness since antiquity. Silica is most commonly found in nature as sand or quartz, as well as in the cell walls of diatoms. Silica is the most abundant mineral in the Earth’s crust.[1][2]
Silica is manufactured in several forms including fused quartz, crystal, fumed silica (or pyrogenic silica, trademarked Aerosil or Cab-O-Sil), colloidal silica, silica gel, and aerogel. In addition, silica nanosprings are produced by the vapor-liquid-solid method at temperatures as low as room temperature.[3]
Silica is used primarily in the production of window glass, drinking glasses, and beverage bottles. The majority of optical fibers for telecommunications are also made from silica. It is a primary raw material for many whiteware ceramics such as earthenware, stoneware, porcelain, as well as industrial Portland cement.
Silica is common additive in the production of foods, where it is used primarily as a flow agent in powdered foods, or to absorb water in hygroscopic applications. It is the primary component of diatomaceous earth which has many uses ranging from filtration to insect control. It is also the primary component of rice husk ash which is used, for example, in filtration and cement manufacturing.
Thin films of silica grown on silicon wafers via thermal oxidation methods can be quite beneficial in microelectronics, where they act as electric insulators with high chemical stability. In electrical applications, it can protect the silicon, store charge, block current, and even act as a controlled pathway to limit current flow.
A silica-based aerogel was used in the Stardust spacecraft to collect extraterrestrial particles. Silica is also used in the extraction of DNA and RNA due to its ability to bind to the nucleic acids under the presence of chaotropes. As hydrophobic silica it is used as a defoamer component. In hydrated form, it is used in toothpaste as a hard abrasive to remove tooth plaque.
In its capacity as a refractory, it is useful in fiber form as a high-temperature thermal protection fabric. In cosmetics, it is useful for its light-diffusing properties and natural absorbency. Colloidal silica is used as a wine and juice fining agent. In pharmaceutical products, silica aids powder flow when tablets are formed. Finally, it is used as a thermal enhancement compound in ground source heat pump industry. -
Silica 200 (2.5kg)
$7.00 for 2.5kg
-
Silica 200 (25kg)
$33.00 for 25kg
-
Silica 350 (1kg)
$3.00 for 1kg
Read about this productThe chemical compound silicon dioxide, also known as silica (from the Latin silex), is an oxide of silicon with a chemical formula of SiO2 and has been known for its hardness since antiquity. Silica is most commonly found in nature as sand or quartz, as well as in the cell walls of diatoms. Silica is the most abundant mineral in the Earth’s crust.[1][2]
Silica is manufactured in several forms including fused quartz, crystal, fumed silica (or pyrogenic silica, trademarked Aerosil or Cab-O-Sil), colloidal silica, silica gel, and aerogel. In addition, silica nanosprings are produced by the vapor-liquid-solid method at temperatures as low as room temperature.[3]
Silica is used primarily in the production of window glass, drinking glasses, and beverage bottles. The majority of optical fibers for telecommunications are also made from silica. It is a primary raw material for many whiteware ceramics such as earthenware, stoneware, porcelain, as well as industrial Portland cement.
Silica is common additive in the production of foods, where it is used primarily as a flow agent in powdered foods, or to absorb water in hygroscopic applications. It is the primary component of diatomaceous earth which has many uses ranging from filtration to insect control. It is also the primary component of rice husk ash which is used, for example, in filtration and cement manufacturing.
Thin films of silica grown on silicon wafers via thermal oxidation methods can be quite beneficial in microelectronics, where they act as electric insulators with high chemical stability. In electrical applications, it can protect the silicon, store charge, block current, and even act as a controlled pathway to limit current flow.
A silica-based aerogel was used in the Stardust spacecraft to collect extraterrestrial particles. Silica is also used in the extraction of DNA and RNA due to its ability to bind to the nucleic acids under the presence of chaotropes. As hydrophobic silica it is used as a defoamer component. In hydrated form, it is used in toothpaste as a hard abrasive to remove tooth plaque.
In its capacity as a refractory, it is useful in fiber form as a high-temperature thermal protection fabric. In cosmetics, it is useful for its light-diffusing properties and natural absorbency. Colloidal silica is used as a wine and juice fining agent. In pharmaceutical products, silica aids powder flow when tablets are formed. Finally, it is used as a thermal enhancement compound in ground source heat pump industry. -
Silica 350 (2.5kg)
$7.00 for 2.5kg
-
Silica 350g (25kg)
$33.00 for 25kg
-
Silica Sand 600
$4.00 for 1kg
Read about this productGranular silica. Source of grit for clay bodies.
High shrinkage in HT clay bodies, but gives smoother fired surface than grog.
Toxic in inhalation. -
Silica Sand 600
$45.00 for 25kg
Read about this productGranular silica. Source of grit for clay bodies.
High shrinkage in HT clay bodies, but gives smoother fired surface than grog.
Toxic in inhalation. -
Soda Ash - Dense
$10.00 for 1kg
-
Sodium Silicate
$8.00 for 500ml
-
Soft Soap Gel - Mould Release Agent
$8.00 for 400ml
-
Talc (Mag. Sil.)
$3.50 for 1kg
-
Wax - Liquid Resist
$10.00 for 400ml
-
Wollastonite
$5.00 for 1kg
Read about this productWollastonite is a calcium inosilicate mineral (CaSiO3) that may contain small amounts of iron, magnesium, and manganese substituting for calcium. It is usually white. It forms when impure limestone or dolostone is subjected to high temperature and pressure sometimes in the presence of silica-bearing fluids as in skarns or contact metamorphic rocks. Associated minerals include garnets, vesuvianite, diopside, tremolite, epidote, plagioclase feldspar, pyroxene and calcite. It is named after the English chemist and mineralogist William Hyde Wollaston (1766–1828).
Some of the properties that make wollastonite so useful are its high brightness and whiteness, low moisture and oil absorption, and low volatile content. Wollastonite is used primarily in ceramics, friction products (brakes and clutches), metalmaking, paint filler, and plastics.
Despite its chemical similarity to the compositional spectrum of the pyroxene group of minerals — where magnesium and iron substitution for calcium ends with diopside and hedenbergite respectively — it is structurally very different, with a third SiO4 tetrahedron in the linked chain (as opposed to two in the pyroxenes).Wollastonite has industrial importance worldwide. It is used in many industries, mostly by tile factories which have incorporated it into the manufacturing of ceramic to improve many aspects, and this is due to its fluxing properties, freedom from volatile constituents, whiteness, and acicular particle shape. It also can be used in paint, paper, and vinyl tile manufacture. In some industries, it is used in different percentages of impurities such as its use as, a fabricator of mineral wool insulation, or as an ornamental building material.
