Feldspars and other fluxes for ceramic tiles: sources, processing, composition and technological behavior

This Profile is intended as a collection of broad information on the deposits of feldspathic raw materials and other fluxes for ceramic tiles. It encompasses a wide range of information, spanning from hints on mining history and geology of deposits, to a brief discussion of technological issues (mineral processing and ceramic use). A special attention is paid to provide the main petrologic and mineralogical traits of flux sources, as introduction to an overview of the chemical and mineralogical composition of raw and beneficiated fluxes. A detailed, global review of present and past mining activities, including prospecting and search for feldspathic fluxes and possible substitutes, is based on relevant literature and accessible data. The main objective of this Profile is to make available to stakeholders a wide range of data that can be useful in the study and valorisation of flux deposits for ceramic tiles. Since the mass of data is huge and referred to the whole World and a wide set of issues, it was not possible to verify every single piece of information that is provided. For all the data of the literature, reliance is placed on the references, which constitute the largest bibliography on fluxes for ceramics (over 1,100 citations on the whole). Other data that can change quickly (for example, opening or closing a mine) refer to the latest information available to the author.