Each year approximately 40 million metric tons of processed kaolin are sold around the world into markets ranging from brick making to paper coating. This functional versatility is a direct consequence of natural variability in deposit quality, which is controlled by mineralogy and processing. Poorer quality deposits, which contain relatively large quan• tities of impurity minerals, are sold locally for use in cement, brick, lightweight aggregate, and refractory applications. Typically these clays ~re not processed or are processed only minimally. High-purity kaolins are extensively processed for more technically demanding applications such as paper coating and filler. These high-grade kaolin products account for 33% of world kaolin production and represent 70% of the value of all kaolin sold (Harben and Virta 2000). For the last 10 years, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Brazil have been the major producers of high-grade kaolin. With an annual average production rate of 10 mil• lion metric tons/year, the United States has been the dominant producer. The United Kingdom has consistently produced 2 to 3 million metric tons/year over this time period while Brazil's production has increased from approximately 1 to 2 million metric tons/ year. Brazil's increase in production capacity has been made possible by the construction of two new processing plants located in the Amazon basin along the Capim River. In this area there are extensive deposits of coarse sedimentary kaolin that rival the quality of the deposits found in the U.S. state of Georgia. Until recently, Australia was also a significant producer of kaolin products for paper coating. Most of the kaolin mined in the United States comes from a series of laterally discontinuous kaolin beds located in Georgia and South Carolina. This Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc. (SME) publication has been published to commemorate the Dreyer Conference on Global Kaolin Resources, Explora tion, and Development held in Savannah, Georgia, in September 2002. The Dreyer Conference comes at a critical time in the history of kaolin mining in Georgia, which spans more than 100 years. Profound changes are taking place in the industry, both in Georgia and around the world. First, Georgia is currently experiencing excess production capac• ity that, combined with new competition from the excellent quality kaolins of Brazil's eastern Amazon area, has lowered product prices and virtually eliminated formerly healthy industry profits. Second, an unprecedented series of rapid kaolin company mergers and acquisitions have consolidated a formerly diverse industry into a just a few producers.

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