Variability in “crystallinity” Values among the Kaolin Deposits of the Coastal Plain of Georgia and South Carolina

Abstract

Quantitative measurement of the relative degree of crystal perfection among 144 samples of Coastal Plain kaolin shows that the deposits are nonhomogeneous with respect to crystallinity and that the hard and soft types can be distinguished at the 0.95 probability level by an analysis of variance. The nonhomogeneity of the deposits and the distinction between the hard and soft types agrees with the results obtained for other properties not reported here. Although on the basis of pulverizing ease there may be a single population with hard and soft end members, in terms of origin the evidence indicates the existence of two distinct clay populations.