Clay Mineral

Abstract

The term clay is generally applied to (1) a natural material with plastic properties, (2) particles of very fine size, customarily those defined as particles smaller than two micrometres (7.9 × 10−5 inch), and (3) very fine mineral fragments or particles composed mostly of hydrous-layer silicates of aluminum, though occasionally containing magnesium and iron. Although, in a broader sense, clay minerals can include virtually any mineral of the above-cited particle size, the definition adapted here is restricted to represent hydrous-layer silicates and some related short-range ordered aluminosilicates, both of which occur either exclusively or frequently in very fine-size grades.