Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T11:37:18.803Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Origin and Classification of Coastal Plain Kaolins, Southeastern USA, and the Role of Groundwater and Microbial Action

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2024

Vernon J. Hurst  and
Sam M. Pickering Jr.
Vernon J. Hurst
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Georgia, Athens 30602
Sam M. Pickering Jr.
Affiliation:
Industrial Mineral Services, Inc., Macon, Georgia 31211
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Along the inner Coastal Plain, kaolinite-metahalloysite-rich, neritic muds of Cretaceous-Eocene age have undergone intense postdepositional alteration in the recharge area of the regional groundwater system. Weathering processes have had the following profound effects on the original sediments: 1) strong compositional and textural modification of both clay and non-clay minerals; 2) whitening of the originally darker sediments by partial removal of organic matter, Fe and Mn; and 3) recrystallization of kaolinite and metahalloysite, most conspicuous where there are coarse stacks and vermiforms. Where the combination of initial sediment composition and alteration intensity was most favorable, these changes have produced important deposits of commercial quality, which now sustain the world's largest kaolin production district. The earliest change was partial sequestration of iron as sulfide and concurrent destruction of some organic matter, mediated by sulfate-reducing bacteria. Subsequent weathering resulted in gradual leaching of alkalies, alkaline earths, iron and silica, and attendant nucleation and growth of minerals compatible with the compositional changes. The existence of several closely spaced erosional unconformities, separated by neritic sediments, is proof that weathering conditions commonly changed at a given site, in response to changes in thickness or lithology of the overlying rocks. Dsyoxic → ← oxic reversals modified both the rate and kind of alteration. (“Dysoxic” refers to molecular oxygen concentration too low to be toxic to anaerobes or cause abiotic oxidation; less extreme than “anoxic”.) Kaolins were produced partly by slower dysoxic weathering in saturated groundwater zones but mainly by more rapid oxic weathering in unsaturated zones, where bauxites also locally formed. Gradual transformation of some sediments to kaolin rarely began and ended in the same epoch. At several places most of the kaolinization (see “Definitions”) took place during Recent time, tens of millions of years after deposition of the sediments. Since the kaolins resulted from postdepositional alteration rather than sedimentary processes, they are better referred to as “Coastal Plain” rather than “sedimentary” kaolins.

Keywords

Bauxite OriginKaolin ClassificationKaolin OriginMicrobial WeatheringWeathering
Type
Research Article
Information
Clays and Clay Minerals , Volume 45 , Issue 2 , April 1997 , pp. 274 - 285
Copyright
Copyright © 1997, The Clay Minerals Society

References

Al-Sanabani, G.A.M.. 1991. Palynostratigraphic age and origin of the kaolin deposits in the Inner Coastal Plain in East-Central Georgia [PhD dissertation]. Athens, GA: Univ Georgia. 180 p.Google Scholar
Austin, R.S.. 1972. The origin of the kaolin and bauxite deposits of Twiggs, Wilkinson, and Washington Counties, Georgia [Ph.D. dissertation]. Athens, GA: Univ Georgia. 185 p.Google Scholar
Barker, W.W.. 1985. Bacterial trace fossils in Eocene Kaolin. In: Bailey, G.W., editor. Proc 43rd Annu Meet Electron Microscopy Soc Am. San Francisco: San Francisco Pr. p 238–39.Google Scholar
Barker, W.W.. 1988. An electron microscopic study of extra-lamellar organoclay complexes [Ph.D. dissertation]. Athens, GA: Univ Georgia. 171 p.Google Scholar
Barker, W.W. and Hurst, V.J.. 1992. Bacterial trace fossils in Eocene kaolin of the Huber Formation of Georgia: Phylloderma microsphaeroides, n. ichnogen., n. ichnos. Ichnos 2: 55–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barker, W.W. and Hurst, V.J.. 1993. Freeze-etch replication of extracellular bacterial polymers adsorbed onto kaolinite. In: Bailey, G.W., Rieder, C.L., editors. Proc 51st Annu Meet Electron Microscopy Soc Am. San Francisco: San Francisco Pr. p 52–53.Google Scholar
Barker, W.W., Rigsby, W.E., Hurst, V.J. and Humphreys, W.J.. 1982. High resolution replication of organoclay surfaces. In: Bailey, G.W., editor. Proc 40th Annu Meet Electron Microscopy Soc Am; Washington, DC. Baton Rouge, LA: Claitor's Publishing Div. p 576–77.Google Scholar
Bates, R.L. and Jackson, J.A., editors. Glossary of geology, 3rd ed. Alexandria, VA: Am Geol Inst. 788 p.Google Scholar
Berner, R.A.. 1984. Sedimentary pyrite formation: An update. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 48: 605–615.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berner, B.R. and Raiswell, R.. 1983. Burial of organic carbon and pyrite sulfur in sediments over Phanerozoic time: A new theory. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 47: 855–862.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blanchard, B.. 1968. Interpretation of leached outcrops. Nev Bur Mines Bull 66: 196 p.Google Scholar
Blatt, H., Middleton, G. and Murray, R.. 1980. Origin of sedimentary rocks, 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs NJ: Prentice-Hall . 782 p.Google Scholar
Bohor, B.F. and Randall, E.H.. 1971. Scanning electron microscopy of clays and clay minerals. Clays Clay Miner 19: 49–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, A. and Sherriff, B.. 1996. Geomicrobiology Symposium at Winnipeg '96: Geol Assoc Canada and Miner Assoc Canada joint meeting. Program and abstracts, p A13.Google Scholar
Chapelle, F.H.. 1993. Groundwater microbiology and geochemistry. New York: J Wiley. 424 p.Google Scholar
Chapelle, F.H. and Lovley, D.R.. 1990. Rates of microbial metabolism in deep coastal plain aquifers. Appl Environ Microbiol 53: 2636–2641.Google Scholar
Chapelle, F.H. and Lovley, D.R.. 1992. Competitive exclusion of sulfate reduction by Fe(III)-reducing bacteria: A mechanism for producing discrete zones of high-iron groundwater. Groundwater 30: 29–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chapelle, F.H., Morris, J.T., McMahon, P.B. and Zelibor, J.S. Jr. 1988. Bacterial metabolism and the δ13C composition of ground water, Floridan aquifer system. SC Geol 16: 117–121.2.3.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cramer, H.R.. 1974. Isopach and lithofacies analysis of the Cretaceous and Cenozoic rocks of the Coastal Plain of Georgia. Ga Geol Surv Bull 87: 21–44.Google Scholar
Dodge, J.J.. 1991. Estuarine transformation of fluvial khandite, coastal Georgia [M.S. thesis]. Athens, GA: Univ Georgia. 91 p.Google Scholar
Dombrowski, T.. 1992. Trace element distribution of the Georgia kaolins and saprolite from crystalline rock in the adjacent Piedmont—Implications for the origin of the kaolin deposits [Ph.D. dissertation]. Bloomington, IN: Indiana Univ. 132 p.Google Scholar
Dombrowski, T.. 1993. Theories of origin for the Georgia kaolins. In: Murray, H., Bundy, W. and Harvey, C., editors. Kaolin genesis and utilization. Boulder, CO: Clay Miner Soc. p 75–98.Google Scholar
Dombrowski, T. and Murray, H.H.. 1984. Thorium—A key element in differentiating Cretaceous and Tertiary kaolins in GA and SC. Proc 27th Int Geol Congr 15: 305–317.Google Scholar
Eagon, R.G., Howard, S.C. and Westbrook, C.E.. 1987. The effect of high microbial populations on the physical properties of kaolin slurries. Int Biodeterioration 23: 61–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ehrlich, H.L.. 1981. Geomicrobiology, 2nd ed. New York: Marcel Dekker. 303 p.Google Scholar
Ehrlich, H.L.. 1996. Geomicrobiology, 3rd ed. New York: Marcel Dekker. 719 p.Google Scholar
Elzea, J.M., Odom, I.E. and Miles, W.J.. 1994. Distinguishing well ordered opal-CT and opal-C from high temperature cristobalite by x-ray diffraction. Anal Chim Acta 286: 107–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evangelou, V.P.. 1995. Pyrite oxidation and its control. New York: CRC Pr. 293 p.Google Scholar
Garrels, R.M. and Mackenzie, F.T.. 1971. Evolution of sedimentary rocks. New York: Norton. 397 p.Google Scholar
Gould, S.J.. 1996. Our life on the earth's surface, based on solar energy and photosynthesis, may be the exception rather than the rule. Nat History 3: 21–23, 66–68.Google Scholar
Griffin, G.M.. 1962. Regional clay mineral facies—Products of weathering intensity and current distribution in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Geol Soc Am Bull 73: 737–768.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guggenheim, S. and Martin, R.T.. 1995. Definition of clay and clay mineral. Joint report of the AIPEA nomenclature and CMS nomenclature committees. Clays Clay Miner 43: 255–256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hassanipak, A.A. and Eslinger, E.. 1985. Mineralogy, crystallinity, O18/VO16, and D/H of Georgia kaolins. Clays Clay Miner 33: 99–105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hetrick, J.H. and Friddell, M.S.. 1990. A geologic atlas of the Central Georgia kaolin district. Geologic Atlas 6. Atlanta, GA: Georgia Geol Surv.Google Scholar
Hurst, V.J.. 1977. Visual estimation of iron in saprolite. Geol Soc Am Bull 88: 174–176.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hurst, V.J.. 1980. Saprolite mapping. Athens, GA: Univ Georgia Geology Dept. 103 p.Google Scholar
Hurst, V.J.. 1997. Origin of the kaolins and associated bauxites. In: Pickering, S.M. Jr., Hurst, V.J., Elzea, J.M.. 1997. The 11th Int Clay Conf Guidebook for the Kaolin Field Trip to the Macon Area, Georgia. Ottawa, CA: Carleton Univ. 12 p.Google Scholar
Hurst, V.J., Crawford, T.J. and Sandy, J.. 1966. Mineral Resources of the Central Savannah River Area. Washington, DC: US Dept Commerce. 467 p.Google Scholar
Hurst, V.J., Kunkle, A.C., Smith, J.M., Pickering, S.M. Jr., Shaffer, M.E., Smith, R.P. and Williamson, J.W.. 1979. Field conference on kaolin, bauxite, and fullers earth. Annu Meet Clay Miner Soc. 107 p.Google Scholar
Hurst, V.J. and Pickering, S.M. Jr. 1989a. Cretaceous-Tertiary strata and kaolin deposits in the Inner Coastal Plain of Georgia. Field Trip Guidebook T172 of the 28th International Geologic Congress. Washington, DC: Amer Geophys Union. p 2–22.Google Scholar
Hurst, V.J. and Pickering, S.M. Jr. 1989b. Significance of crystallite size and habit in determining origin and industrial applications of Georgia kaolins. Geol Soc Southeast Section. Abstracts with programs. p 22.Google Scholar
Hurst, V.J. and Rigsby, W.E.. 1984. Intergrowths and aggregates of natural kaolinite. In: Bailey, G.W., editor. Proc 42nd Annu Meet Electron Microscopy Soc Am. San Francisco: San Francisco Pr. p 22–23.Google Scholar
Jonas, E.E.. 1964. Petrology of the Dry Branch, Georgia, kaolin deposits. Bailey, W.F., editor. Proc 12th Natl Clay Miner Soc Conf: 1963, New York: Macmillan. p 195–205.Google Scholar
Jones, T.. 1988. Smectitic impurities in some commercial Georgia kaolins [M.S. thesis]. Athens, GA: Univ Georgia. 60 p.Google Scholar
Jorgensen, B.B.. 1982. Ecology of the bacteria of the sulfur cycle with special reference to anoxic-oxic interface environments. London: Philos Trans Royal Soc B 298: 543–561.Google ScholarPubMed
Kesler, T.L.. 1963. Environment and origin of the Cretaceous kaolin deposits of Georgia and South Carolina. Ga Miner Newsletter 1,2: 1–11.Google Scholar
Ladd, G.E.. 1898. A preliminary report on a part of the clays of Georgia. Ga Geol Surv Bull 6-A. 204 p.Google Scholar
LeGrand, H.E. and Furcron, A.S.. 1956. Geology and groundwater resources of Central-East Georgia. Ga Geol Surv Bull 64. 174 p.Google Scholar
Lovley, D.R., Chapelle, F.W. and Phillips, E.J.P.. 1990. Fe(III)-reducing bacteria in deeply buried sediments of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Geology 18: 954–957.2.3.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lovley, D.R. and Phillips, E.J.P.. 1987. Competitive mechanisms for inhibition of sulfate reduction and methane production in the zone of ferric iron reduction in sediments. Appl Environ Microbiol 53: 2636–2641.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lowe, R.A.. 1991. Microtextural and mineralogic differences of Georgia's kaolins and the search for Ostwald Ripening [M.S. thesis]. Athens, GA: Univ Georgia. 81 p.Google Scholar
Margulis, L. and Sagan, D.. 1986. Microcosmos, four billion years of evolution from our microbial ancestors. New York: Summit Books. 301 p.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, R.T., chair. 1991. Report of the CMS Nomenclature Committee. Revised classification of clay materials. Clays Clay Miner 39: 333–335.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Melear, N.D.. 1990. Clay minerals and ferruginous minerals formed during weathering of granitic rocks of the Georgia Piedmont [M.S. thesis]. Athens, GA: Univ Georgia. 69 p.Google Scholar
Millman, N. and Iannicelli, J.. 1966. Relation of viscosity of kaolin-water suspensions to montmorillonite content of certain Georgia clays. Proc 14th Natl Conf Clays Clay Miner. Berkeley, CA. p 347–354.Google Scholar
Millot, G.. 1970. Geology of clays NY: Springer-Verlag. 429 p.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mitzutani, S.. 1970. Silica minerals in the early stage of diagenesis. Sedimentology 16: 419–436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patterson, S.H. and Buie, B.E. 1974. Field conference on kaolin and fullers earth. Ga Geol Surv Guidebook 14. 53 p.Google Scholar
Patterson, S.H. and Murray, H.H.. 1984. Kaolin, refractory clay, ball clay, and halloysite in North America, Hawaii, and the Caribbean region. USGS Prof Paper 1306. 56 p.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pettijohn, F.J.. 1949. Sedimentary rocks. New York: Harper Bros. 526 p.Google Scholar
Pickering, S.M. Jr. and Hurst, V.J.. 1989. Commercial kaolins in Georgia, occurrence, mineralogy, origin, and use. In: Fritz, W.J., editor. Excursions in Georgia geology. Atlanta, GA: Geol Soc Am Guidebooks 9(1): 29–75.Google Scholar
Rogers, L.F.. 1979. The petrology-mineralogy of six Georgia kaolins [Ph.D. dissertation]. Athens, GA: Univ Georgia. 234 p.Google Scholar
Schroder, C.H.. 1982. Trace fossils of the Oconee Group and basal Barnwell Group of East-Central Georgia. Ga Geol Surv Bull 88. 125 p.Google Scholar
Siffert, B.. 1962. Quelques réactions de la silice en solution: La formation des argiles. Memoires du Service de la Carte Géologique D'Alsace et de Lorraine No 21. Strasbourg: Univ Strasbourg. 86 p.Google Scholar
Smith, R.W.. 1929. Sedimentary kaolins of the Coastal Plain of Georgia. Ga Geol Surv Bull 44. 474 p.Google Scholar
Toth, J.. 1963. A theoretical analysis of groundwater flow in small drainage basins. J Geophys Res 68: 4795–4812.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tschudy, R.H. and Patterson, S.H.. 1975. Palynological evidence for Late Cretaceous, Paleocene, and Early and Middle Eocene for strata in the kaolin belt, Central Georgia. J Res USGS 3: 437–445.Google Scholar
Veatch, O.. 1909. Second report on the clay deposits of Georgia. Ga Geol Surv Bull 18. 453 p.Google Scholar
Weaver, C.E.. 1989. Clays, muds, and shales. New York: Elsevier Science. 819 p.Google Scholar
Webb, H. and Sprague, E.K.. 1991. Timing of kaolinization in hard kaolins of the Huber Formation in central and eastern Georgia: Trace fossil microtextures documented by scanning electron microscopy. Program and Abstracts for 28th Annu Meet Clay Miner Soc; Houston, TX. p. 171.Google Scholar
Westrich, J.T.. 1983. The consequences and controls of bacterial sulfate reduction in marine sediments [Ph.D. dissertation]. New Haven, CT: Yale Univ 530 p.Google Scholar