The occurrence of palygorskite near Ipswich, Queensland

Abstract

In the course of an investigation on the determination of soil carbonates a sample of dolomite, from the Ibis dolomite quarry, Mr. Flinders, Queensland, was examined by X-ray diffraction and found to contain palygorskite. As this appears to be the first recognition of the occurrence of the mineral in Australia and as it has a number of commercial uses (e.g. as a drilling mud, catalyst, decolorizer, and absorbent), further work was undertaken.