Mineralogical Identification of China Clay Deposits at Mulieh Area in Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya

Kaolinised rocks occurring at the northern part of Mulieh village of Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya were studied with a view to identifying the possible mineralogical set up. The investigation was confined mainly on the crude as well as washed fractions of the clay as obtained from systematic levigation of the crude by gravity sedimentation technique. The study included the finding out of the physical, chemical, rational, base exchange capacity, pyrometric cone equivalent, petrographical, thermo- chemical and XRD characteristics of all the fractions of the clay. The results indicated that the clay in its crude form was primary in origin and contained substantial amount of free quartz, and was kaolinitic in character. On processing by gravity sedimentation the clay was found to be almost free from quartz and contained mineral kaolinite as the predominant phase along with quartz, microcline, muscovite, illite and rutile in minor amounts.