Clay pit

Clay pit in Britain

A clay pit is a quarry or mine for the extraction of clay, which is generally used for manufacturing pottery, bricks or Portland cement. Quarries where clay is mined to make bricks are sometimes called brick pits.[1]

The brickyard or brickworks is often located alongside the clay pit to reduce the transport costs of the raw material. Today, pottery producers are often not sited near the source of their clay and usually do not own the clay deposits. The other essential raw material is fuel for firing and potteries may be located near to fuel deposits rather than the clay.

Former claypits are sometimes filled with water and used for recreational purposes such as sailing and scuba diving. The Eden Project at Bodelva near St Austell, Cornwall, UK is a major redevelopment of a former china clay (kaolin) pit for educational and environmental purposes.

References

  1. ↑ "Coalisland Brick Pit". Geological Sites in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland Environment Agency. Retrieved 14 May 2017.

See also

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.