Review of production, reserves, and processing of clays (including bentonite) in the Czech Republic

Abstract This paper aims to characterize and interpret the trends in reserves, resources, and mine production of clays and bentonite during 2005–2019 in the Czech Republic. With over 911 Mt of total clays and 310 Mt of total bentonite resources, from which are 40 Mt of clays and 32 Mt of bentonite reserves, clays and bentonite belong to important industrial minerals of the Czech Republic. With annual outputs of approximately 450–550 kt of clays and 200–350 kt of bentonite, the Czech Republic ranks among the top European clay and bentonite producers. Major clays production comes from Tertiary and Cretaceous basins in western, southern, and Central Bohemia, while the bentonite production is concentrated in the areas of Tertiary volcanism in the western and northwestern parts of the Czech Republic. All clays and bentonite deposits are extracted by open pits (quarries). Ongoing geological prospecting and exploration for new deposits are increasing available reserves and resources. Clays are used in the domestic ceramic industry and bentonite primarily for the production of adsorbents (cat litter) and both are used in the foundry industry. Slightly less than 20% of clays and around 50% of bentonite production are exported, both of them generally to Germany and Poland. All sorts of the clay raw materials are also imported in significant amounts, clays mainly from Germany and bentonite mostly from Slovakia (both about 70% of total imports).