Mineralogy, physico-chemical properties and industrial testing of ArazGoney kaolin deposit for ceramic and tile industry

Arazgoni Kaolin deposit is located in East Azarbaijan Province, about 18 km south of Qara Aghaj, the center of Charoymaq city. The area under investigation, in the geological zoning of Iran, is a part of the Urmia-Dokhtar volcanic-plutonic belt. Most of the study area is composed of volcanic rocks with Oligo-Miocene dacite-andesitic composition which have been strongly altered by hydrothermal alteration. Petrographic observations show that the main minerals in the dacite-andesites are plagioclase, pyroxene, quartz, biotite and alkaline feldspar and porphyritic texture is predominant. XRD analyzes show that kaolinite, albite and quartz minerals are present as the main minerals which accompanied by small amounts of orthoclase, mica, illite, pyrophyllite, montmorillonite and anatase as minor minerals. Aluminum and Silica are used as Determinant factors of Behavior and Quality of Products of Arazgoni Kaolin Samples, according to the ECC global standard, for evaluation of the quality in the ceramic and tile industry. Resistance of ceramic products in Arazgoni samples are high against thermal, tensile and compressive shocks. However, the amount of iron oxides and titanium in Arazgoni ceramic products does not have the desired quality compared to the ECC standard. The amount of potassium oxide in Arazgoni samples, that play a flux role in ceramic products, is within the ECC standard, which has reduced the deformation of ceramic products. The amount of SiO2, Al2O3, K2O and LOI in Arazgoni samples is within the ECC standard for the ceramic and tile industry. Due to the mineralogical and chemical composition of Arazgoni mine soil, it can be included in the group of kaolins that have low thermal expansion coefficient and high dry resistance. This soil, despite having a high viscosity and good dry resistance that it gives to the consumer, does not absorb much water, which causes no lubrication in the slurry and thus increases the consumption of expensive lubricants in the formulation. Very important features of this soil are high linear shrinkage, high dry strength and relatively low coefficient of thermal expansion.