Kaolin & clays: Overview
From glossy paper to cat litter: what clays do
What this tab covers What the commodity is used for, why, in what volumes and with what alternatives, and its chain from mine or field to end user. Also the latest price moves, top recent news, three things to know, and buttons into each tab.Key uses
| Use | Share | Annual volume | Why this commodity | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaolin as filler, coating, extender and binder (paper, paint, plastics, rubber) | 56% | about 2.7 million t a year in the USbasis | Fine, bright, platy kaolin gives paper a smooth printable surface and opacity, and extends titanium dioxide in paint. Georgia and Brazilian deposits are bright enough for coating grades, which is why a few districts supply the world. Paper coating has been shrinking as printing paper declines. USGS MCS 2026, Clays | Ground and precipitated calcium carbonate (paper, paint) Talc and mica (paint, plastics) Calcined clays and silica |
| Ceramics: tiles, sanitaryware, tableware and porcelain (kaolin and ball clay) | 20% | about 1.0 million t of kaolin plus 0.5 million t of ball clay a year in the USbasis | Kaolin gives white firing colour and strength; ball clay adds plasticity so tile and sanitaryware bodies can be pressed or cast. Tile clusters such as Morbi in Gujarat, which made most of India's 2,452 million sq m of tiles in 2025, are the largest buyers in Asia. USGS MCS 2026; Ceramic World Web citing MECS (2026) | Other plastic clays and feldspar-clay blends Talc, pyrophyllite and wollastonite in some bodies |
| Bentonite for pet litter and other absorbents | 48% | about 2.0 million t a year in the USbasis | Sodium bentonite swells and clumps when wet, so it makes clumping cat litter that is easy to scoop. It is cheap, plentiful in Wyoming and safe. This consumer use is now larger than drilling in the US. USGS MCS 2026 | Organic litters (wood, paper, corn) Silica gel Zeolites and diatomite |
| Bentonite in drilling mud (also foundry sand binder and iron ore pelletising) | 22% | about 0.9 million t a year in the USbasis | In water, bentonite forms a thick gel that carries rock cuttings up the well, seals the borehole wall and controls pressure. The same swelling and binding make it the standard binder for foundry moulding sand and iron ore pellets. USGS MCS 2026 | Polymer and synthetic muds Attapulgite in saltwater muds Organic binders in pelletising |
| Fuller's earth for absorbents and oil bleaching | 79% | about 1.9 million t a year in the USbasis | Fuller's earth and acid-activated clays absorb oil, grease and pet waste, and bleach edible oils by removing colour and impurities. India's Ashapura Perfoclay makes acid-activated bleaching clay at almost full capacity (2025). USGS MCS 2026; Ashapura Minechem investor note (Aug 2025) | Diatomite, polymers and zeolites (absorbents) Activated carbon (oil bleaching) |
| Common clay and shale for brick, lightweight aggregate and cement | 43% | about 5.6 million t to brick, 4.0 million t to lightweight aggregate and 2.7 million t to cement a year in the USbasis | Common clay is the cheapest bulk material here, at about $21/t in the US, so it is mined next to brick and cement plants. It supplies alumina and silica for cement clinker and expands into light aggregate when fired. USGS MCS 2026 | Fly ash and slag (cement) Concrete block, timber and other siding and roofing (USGS) |
From mine to user
- 1. Deposit Kaolin from deeply weathered granite or kaolinitic sediments; bentonite from altered volcanic ash; ball clay from sedimentary basins. Resources are 'extremely large' (USGS).
- 2. Open-pit mining Shallow pits with scrapers and excavators; about 120 US companies ran clay and shale mines in 38 states in 2025 (USGS).
- 3. Slurrying and refining (kaolin) Kaolin is blunged with water, degritted, sized in centrifuges, magnetically cleaned and bleached to raise brightness.
- 4. Finishing Kaolin is spray dried, delaminated or calcined; bentonite is dried, ground and sometimes sodium- or acid-activated.
- 5. Pricing by grade US ex-works values in 2025: kaolin $170/t, bentonite $110/t, fuller's earth $88/t, ball clay $47/t, common clay $21/t (USGS).
- 6. Trade High-value kaolin and bentonite travel by sea: the US exported 1.6 Mt of kaolin and 640 kt of bentonite in 2025 (USGS).
- 7. End users Paper and paint plants, tile and sanitaryware clusters, pet litter packers, drilling contractors, foundries, brick and cement works.
Price movement snapshot 2026-10-25
No public daily or monthly benchmark price for this commodity in the datasets used.
World production 48.9 m tonnes, 2024 Largest producer China 17.27% of worldThree things to know
- In 2025, 48% of US bentonite went into pet-waste absorbents and 22% into drilling mud (USGS).
- US common clay sells for about $21 per tonne, kaolin for about $170 (USGS).
- Producing lithium from clay had never been done commercially before projects such as Thacker Pass, Nevada (Scheyder).
Top recent news snapshot 2026-10-25, last 30 days
No recent articles from the listed publishers were found in the snapshot.