Finore Minerals LLP.

Bani Park, Jaipur, Rajasthan

Quartz is the most abundant and most common mineral on the Earth. It is found in almost every geological environment and also it is at least a component of almost every rock type. It has a hexagonal crystal structure and is made of trigonal crystallized silica. It is most varied in terms of varieties, colors and forms.
The most important distinction between the types of quartz is that one is of macrocrystalline, which is individual crystal visible to the unaided eye, and the other is microcrystalline or cryptodrystalline varieties, aggregates of crystals visible only under high magnification. Chalcedony is the generic term for cryptocrystalline quartz. The transparent variety tends to be macrocrystalline and the cryptocrystalline varieties are either translucent or mostly opaque.

Features

• Clear (in pure form)
• 6-sided prism ending in 6-sided pyramid (typical)
• It has a hardness of seven on the Mohs Scale which makes it very durable.

Applications

• Quartz sand is used in the production of container glass, flat plate glass, specialty glass and fiberglass.
• Many varieties are gemstones, including amethyst, citrine, smoky quartz, and rose quartz.
• Quartz sands and finely ground silica sand are used for sand blasting, scouring cleansers, grinding media, and grit for sanding and sawing.
• Quartz sand has a high resistance to being crushed and is used in Petroleum Industry because of this feature.
• Quartz sand is used as a filler in the manufacture of rubber, paint and putty.
• Electronics grade crystals can be used in filters, frequency controls, timers, electronic circuits that become important components in cell phones, watches, clocks, games, television receivers, computers, navigational instruments and other products.
• Optical-grade crystals can be used as lenses and windows in lasers and other specialized devices.

Silica sand is one of the most common varieties of sand found in the world. It is used for a wide range of applications. Silica sand is used in industrial processing, to make glass, as fill, and to create molds and castings.

Silica sand is produced by crushing sand stone or quartzite of open texture, and washing and garding it to yield requisite grain distribution. Silica flour is produced by crushing grinding and washing the high grade quartz, quartzite rocks or from white silica sand.

• SALIENT FEATURES
• Silica Sandstone is moisture free, fritable & hard.
• Grain size of the particles is variable.
• Friable & mainly brown to grey in colour.

• APPLICATIONS
• Glass - Silica is the major ingredient in virtually all types of glass. The principal glass products include containers (bottles and jars), flat glass (windows, mirrors, vehicle glazing etc.), lighting glass (light bulbs, fluorescent tubes, etc.), tableware (lead crystal, drinking glasses etc.), TV tubes and screens, decorative glass, fibreglass, optical glass and vacuum flasks.
• Foundry Casting - Silica has a high melting point, 1610 degrees C. This enables castings to be produced by pouring molten metal into moulds made out of silica sand.
• Ceramics - Silica that has been ground to fine size is an ingredient of most clay bodies and is a major constituent of ceramic glazes. Typical everyday products include tableware, sanitaryware, ornaments and wall and floor tiles.
• Filtration - Closely sized grades of silica sand is the principal filtration medium used by the water industry to extract solids from wastewater.
• Specialist Building Applications - The construction industry is founded on silica and there are a host of specialist applications including silica and aerated concrete blocks, floor and roof tiles, flooring and rendering compounds, white line markings, roofing felt and cement and resin injection systems.
• Sports and Leisure - Silica sand is used for equestrian surfaces, in artificial turf, golf course root zones and dressings, football and cricket and other pitches and as play sands.
• Other Uses - Silica has many other applications including the manufacture of chemicals and metals, fillers in numerous products, plastic and otherwise, the manufacture of refractories, stimulating oil production and as additives in agricultural and horticultural products. It is difficult to imagine a life without silica!

China Clay or Kaolin is one of the purest form of clays, composed chiefly of the mineral kaolinite, usually formed when granite is changed by hydrothermal metamorphism. Kaolinite is a clay mineral, part of the group of industrial minerals, with the chemical composition Al2Si2O5(OH)4. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet of silica (SiO4) linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral sheet of alumina (AlO6) octahedra.

Kaolinite has a low shrinkswell capacity and a low cation-exchange capacity (115 meq/100 g). It is a soft, earthy, usually white mineral (dioctahedral phyllosilicate clay), produced by the chemical weathering of aluminium silicate minerals like feldspar. In many parts of the world, it is colored pink-orange-red by iron oxide, giving it a distinct rust hue. Lighter concentrations yield white, yellow or light orange colors. Commercial grades of kaolin are supplied and transported as dry powder, semi-dry noodle or as liquid slurry.

• SALIENT FEATURES
• Contributes in improving the chemical resistance, electrical properties and reduction in water absorption
• Lowers the crack tendency in the finished products
• Improves shock resistance as well as surface quality

• APPLICATIONS
• In ceramics (it is the main component of porcelain)
• In Paints as Extender, to extend the titanium dioxide (TiO2) white pigment and modify gloss levels
• In toothpaste
• As a light diffusing material in white incandescent light bulbs
• in organic farming as a spray applied to crops to deter insect damage, and in the case of apples, to prevent sun scald
• In Fiber Glass as Filler.

Ball Clay is a variety of Kaolinite, like china-clay. It differs from china-clay in having high plasticity and less refractoriness. In chemical composition, ball and china clays do not differ greatly except that the former contains a larger proportion of silica. It has derived its name from the practice of removing it in the form of ball-like lumps from the clay pits in the UK.

Ball clays are kaolinitic sedimentary clays that commonly consist of 20-80% kaolinite, 10-25% mica, 6-65% quartz. Localized seams in the same deposit have variations in composition, including the quantity of the major minerals, accessory minerals and carbonaceous materials such as lignite. They are fine-grained and plastic in nature, and, unlike most earthenware clays, produce a fine quality white-coloured pottery body when fired, which is the key to their popularity with potters. Ball clays are relatively scarce deposits due to the combination of geological factors needed for their formation and preservation.

• SALIENT FEATURES
• High plasticity
• High unfired strength
• Highly controlled rheological properties
• Controlled organic content
• Controlled residue

• APPLICATIONS
• Ceramics - Ball Clay is a vital component in ceramic manufacturing.
• Sanitaryware - A ceramic body for sanitaryware typically includes 30% ball clay to provide plasticity and workability, 20% kaolin, 30% feldspar and 20% quartz/silica.
• Tableware - Ceramic tableware utilizes ball clay to provide high plasticity and a good white-fired color, combined with kaolin, feldspar and quartz.
• Wall and Floor Tiles - Combined with talc, feldspar, quartz/silica and kaolin, ball clays are utilized for their plasticity and bonding properties.
• Construction ceramics - Building materials such as bricks, clay pipes and roof tiles all contain ball clay.
• Electrical Porcelain Insulators - Ball Clays are found in the electrical porcelain components that provide insulation from high voltage currents.