PRELIMINARY REPORT1 ON THE RESIDUAL KAOLIN AND FELDSPAR IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

Abstract

Large quantities of residual crystalline kaolin are found in the Inland Empire district of eastern Washington and northwestern Idaho. Preliminary investigation has shown that the properties of these clays, when properly selected and purified, will compare favorably with those of the English china clay upon which the eastern potters and paper manufacturers are largely dependent. With the low cost of the English clay laid down on the Atlantic Coast, it is not believed that the Pacific Northwest clay will be used as a substitute for the English in the eastern markets, but the domestic source will provide the bulk of the raw material for the future whiteware industry in the Pacific Northwest. Commercial quantities of feldspar, quartz, and fire clay are also found in the Pacific Northwest. The work described here was conducted at Seattle under a cooperative arrangement between the College of Mines, University of Washington, and the Northwest Experiment Station of the U. S. Bureau of Mines.