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Irish Clay types

  • 13-06-2012 10:41PM
    #1
    daithicarr
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 425 ✭✭


    Can anyone point me in the direction of where id find information on the types of clays that exist in Ireland.

    and if clays such as bentonite exist in Ireland and are extracted or could be for commercial purposes.

    Thanks


Comments

  • #2
    El Siglo
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,803 ✭✭✭El Siglo


    This article: Hoff, D. H., 2009. A clay mineralogy of Ireland. Irish Journal of Earth Sciences, 27 (1), pp. 11-14. It's available from here and from the RIA website here. There are some kaolinite-smectite clays in Cloyne known as the 'Colbond' clay which were at one stage mined for their bentonite-like properties as Hoff discussed. Ballycastle, Co. Antrim has some kaolinitic shales of Lower Carboniferous ages which were intruded by a palaeogene dyke (lower Antrim basalt) which led to the formation of a smectite zone near the dyke margin. Some K-bentonites do occur at numerous horizons in Devonian and Carboniferous rocks as laterally continuous pale-green bands. These might have some sort of bentonite but it's long shot. Anywhere really that's had the weathering of volcanic ash in the presence of water you would expect to find some bentonite.


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