بررسی‌های کانی‌شناسی و ژئوشیمیایی نهشته‌ی کانی خاک رس کائولینیتی شده‌ی شیخ آباد (جنوب غربی بیرجند) با نگرشی بر کاربردهای صنعتی آن

Sheykh Abad area is located in South Khorasan Province, about 90 km south-west of Birjand. The geographical coordinates of area is 59° 00¢ 50² to 59° 06¢ 20² longitude E and 32° 26¢ 20² to 32° 29¢ 32² latitude N. The study area is located in geotectonic Lut Block zone. Eocene sub-volcanic units are altered by hydrothermal solotions in Skeykh Abad area. Kaolinite, Montmorillonite and quartz are the major and muscovite, albite, orthoclase and gypsum are the minor mineralogical compositions. The chemical composition of Sheykh Abad kaolin deposit shows that the percentage of SiO2 is higher (63.18%) and the amount of Al2O3 is lower (22.06%(, than the theoritical composition of kaolin. The kaolinic clay raw materials from Sheykh Abad deposit, by having the average amounts of 0.53% Na2O, 3.90% K2O and 0.88% TFeO, Module of Rupture (MOR) between 49 to 56.1 Kgf/ cm2, white to pale yellow colour, low LOI (4.69%) and zero percentage of water absorption, can be used as floor tile. Wet or dry processing are necessary for making the kaolin from Sheykh Abad suitable for ceramic and paper industrials.