FIRECLAY

Indian Minerals
Yearbook 2018
(Part- III : Mineral Reviews)

57th Edition

MINOR MINERALS
30.9 FIRECLAY
(ADVANCE RELEASE)

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF MINES
INDIAN BUREAU OF MINES

Indira Bhavan, Civil Lines,

NAGPUR – 440 001

PHONE/FAX NO. (0712) 2565471

PBX : (0712) 2562649, 2560544, 2560648
E-MAIL : cme@ibm.gov.in
Website: www.ibm.gov.in

February, 2019

30-9-1
 FIRECLAY

30-9 Fireclay

T he na me firecla y is given to a group of

r e fr a c t or y c l a ys wh i c h c a n wi t h s t a n d
temperatures above Pyrometric Cone Equivalent
(PCE) value of 19. Refractoriness and plasticity
are the two main properties needed in fireclay for
its suitability in the manufacture of refractory
bricks. A good fireclay should have a high fusion
point (>1580 o C) and good plasticity. Fireclay
containing high alumina and low iron oxide, lime,
magnesia & alkalies is preferred by refractory
manufacturers. The aluminous (kaolinitic) variety
of fi reclay is more refra ctory because of i ts
hardness and density and absence of iron, giving
it a white-burning colour. The absence of alkalies
gives it a very high fusion temperature.
RESERVES/RESOURCES
In di a posse sse s s ubs t a n t i a l r es er ves of
fireclay. The best deposits occur in association
with the coal seams in the Lower Gondwana
Coalfields of Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, West
Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Neyveli lignite fields
in Tamil Nadu. Notable occurrences of fireclay,
not associated with coal measures, are reported
in Gujarat, Jabalpur region of Madhya Pradesh
and Belpahar-Sundergarh areas of Odisha. The
reserves of fireclay are substantial but reserves
of high-grade (non-plastic) fireclay containing
more than 37% alumina are limited.
Reserves/Resources of fireclay as per NMI
data, based on UNFC system as on 1.4.2015, has
been estimated at 722.83 million tonnes. Out of
t hese, 27 mi ll ion t on nes a re grouped un der
Reserves category while the bulk, i.e., 695.79
million tonnes are classified under Resources
category. Out of 27 million tonnes Reserves, 13.29
24% followed by Madhya Pradesh (18%), Tamil
Nadu (16%), Jharkhand (9%) and Gujarat &
Rajasthan (8% each). Gradewise, Refractory-
pl asti c gr ade a ccount s for 37% fol lowed by
Refractory-non-plastic/semi-plastic (16%) and
Refractory-unspecified (14%). The remaining 33%
are of Others, Unclassified and Not-known grades
(Table-1).
EXPLORATION & DEVELOPMENT
The exploration & development details if any
a r e gi ven i n t h e Revi ew on E xpl or a t i on &
Development in "General Reviews".
PRODUCTION & STOCKS
As per Govt. of India Notification S.O. 423(E),
dated 10 th February 2015, 'fireclay' has been
declared as 'Minor Mineral', hence the producers
r epor t t h e pr oduct i on da t a di r ect l y t o t h e
respective States and not to IBM. However, efforts
were made to collect this information through
correspondence with the State Directorates of
Mi ni ng an d Geology of i ndi vi dua l st ates or
visiting their websites. All possible information/
data that could be gathered has been presented
in this Review.
State-wise production of fireclay is furnished
in Table-2.
Table-2: Statewise Production of Fireclay
(In tonnes)
Year
State
2 01 4 -1 5 2 01 5 -1 6 2 01 6 -1 7
Andhra Pradesh 637 17 362 63 374 10
Telangana 34 - -
Madhya Pradesh - 2 9 49 6 4 -

million tonnes are Proved Reserves and 13.74 Gujarat 4 3 82 0 6 6 5 66 1 1 -

million tonnes are Probable Reserves. Out of the Source: As received from State DGMs and their website.
total Reserves/Resources, Odisha accounts for Note : " - " NA

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 Table – 1 : Reserves/Resources of Fireclay as on 1.4.2015
(By Grades/States)
(I n '0 0 0 ton ne s)

Reserves Remaining Resources

Total
Grade/State Proved Probable Tota l Feasibility Pre-feasibility Measured Indicated Inferred Reconnaissance Tota l Resources
STD111 (A) STD211 STD331 STD332 STD333 STD334 (B) (A+B)
STD121 STD122 STD221 STD222
All India : Total 132 95 50 35 87 07 270 37 138 78 301 55 182 60 492 90 540 93 524011 61 04 695 791 722 829
By Grades
Refractory-non-
plastic/semi-plastic 20 69 78 2 81 3 36 63 40 99 152 34 32 31 26 07 13 97 869 80 - 113 548 117 211
Refractory-plastic 22 71 11 13 20 76 54 60 24 92 48 35 30 74 40 76 46 74 238 564 51 46 262 861 268 321
Refractory-unspecified 74 93 20 88 46 66 142 48 55 52 59 83 66 25 94 5 20 10 694 44 - 905 58 104 806
Others 64 1 30 2 77 2 17 15 13 84 23 94 34 20 72 51 41 37 449 35 12 5 636 47 653 62
Unclassified 82 1 74 9 38 1 19 51 19 4 13 82 82 3 20 5 30 100 20 - 126 53 146 04
Not-k nown - - - - 15 7 32 7 10 87 342 06 418 45 740 70 83 3 152 525 152 525

By States
Andhra Pradesh 12 52 40 64 2 19 34 77 1 14 00 15 74 56 41 7 102 11 13 2 145 62 164 96
Assam - - - - - - - - - 31 61 - 31 61 31 61

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Bihar - - - - - - - - - 44 - 44 44
FIRECLAY

Chhattisgarh 31 5 23 94 43 3 68 27 17 71 80 34 00 104 35 - 211 26 215 58

Delhi - - - - - - - 6 13 45 - 64 64
Gujarat 23 1 - 56 28 7 11 93 66 4 96 6 21 20 10 53 535 26 - 595 22 598 09
Jammu & Kashmir - - - - - - - - - - 4914 4914 4914
Jharkhand - - 3 3 - 11 25 30 9 13 9 12 2 647 55 - 664 50 664 54
Karnataka 14 6 - - 14 6 24 7 34 0 20 03 - 22 6 88 32 - 116 48 117 94
Kerala - - - - - - - 82 00 51 99 29 - 181 81 181 81
Madhya Pradesh 39 0 41 92 30 20 76 03 21 39 71 64 49 75 15 51 21 29 100 977 10 0 119 036 126 639
Maharashtra - 32 2 38 8 70 9 17 44 32 - - 66 52 - 67 46 74 55
Meghalaya - - - - - - - - - 109 99 - 109 99 109 99
Odisha 13 3 - 40 17 3 30 74 123 76 44 95 262 19 429 25 836 62 - 172 751 172 924
Rajasthan 65 61 - 39 32 104 93 15 48 17 18 69 7 22 56 25 80 353 63 - 441 63 546 56
Tamil Nadu 25 23 45 8 15 5 31 36 39 52 39 71 18 42 15 61 - 102 202 - 113 528 116 663
Telangana 76 2 - - 76 2 66 7 74 6 - - 75 8 85 14 - 106 84 114 46
Tripura - - - - - - - 1 - 36 9 - 37 0 37 0
Uttar Pradesh - - - - - - - - - 32 21 - 32 21 32 21
West Bengal 98 1 - 37 7 13 59 20 1 58 0 13 49 - 41 9 111 14 95 8 146 22 159 81
Figures rounded off. Note : " - " Nil
 FIRECLAY

USES AND SPECIFICATIONS & Steel industries and Other industries, such as,
pesticide, alloy steel, graphite products, foundry,
Fireclays are used in the manufacture of cement,
sugar, etc.
br i ck s , bl oc k s , r e t or t s , c r uc i bl e s, m or t a r s ,
masses, pottery, floor tiles, etc. Low-grade material
is used for manufacturing heavy sanitaryware, such FUTURE OUTLOOK
as, pipes and bath tubs. Firebricks manufactured
Fi recl ay i s on e of th e most i mpor ta nt
are used where heat generation is involved, such
minerals used in the Refractory Industry. India
as in furnaces, kilns and ovens. Firebricks are
has huge reserves of fireclay and there does not
extensively used in metallurgical industries.
seem to be any problem in respect of supplies to
Fireclays are usually graded into: i) Low duty th e Refr act ory In dustry in th e n ear futur e.
ii) Intermediate duty iii) High duty and iv) Super
However, a serious dearth is being felt in the
duty, depending upon their capacity to withstand
availability of high-grade fireclay analysing 37%
temperature before melting. The Low duty fireclay
& above Al 2O 3 with Fe 2O 3 and fluxing impurities
can withstand temperatures between 1,515 and 1,615
o
less than 2% for supply to the refractories. To
C (PCE 19-28); Intermediate duty fireclay up to 1,650
o
fulfil the increasing demand of the Refractory
C (PCE 30), High duty fireclay up to 1,700 oC (PCE
Industry, it is imperative that deposits of high-
32); and Super duty beyond 1,775 oC (PCE 35).
grade fireclay be explored and delineated.
Crude fireclay and other clays including kaolin
(c h i n a c l a y) a r e a l so u se d i n a fe w ce m e n t The export prospect of fireclay is relatively
ma nufa ctur ing plan ts t o in crea se t he a lumi na less as it is considered as low-value high bulk
content in the raw meal and its plasticity.Cement mineral. However, fireclay bricks as a commodity
Industry has been the major consumer of crude could have high export potential and therefore
fireclay followed by Refractory, Ceramic and Iron must be encouraged. high

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