Eytons' Earth: Natural & Alternative Medicine

[MikeBlackmore]

Hello, I came across your site today while looking for a site that would tell me the minerals present in the local clay. I live in Bright's Grove, Ontario which is located at the southern tip of Lake Huron. The lake is a few hundred feet from my house so I spend a lot of time there in the summer. I discovered a clay bed about 30 feet from shore last summer and a few of us started covering ourselves with the clay regularly, mostly because of the great way the skin feels after it is washed off. One thing led to another and in August I put together a "Mud People Event" complete with dancers, drummers, photographers and a videographer.
...........
This August I want to put together a bigger event but I would like to have general information available on the healing qualities of clay. A geological survey was done on clay beds quite a ways north of here, and the clay there contained large ammounts of illite.
As soon as the lake warms up, I will get a sample and have it analyzed. Is there a particular way or type of analysis that is better for my purposes? I also want it analyzed to make sure there are no contaminants in it. I'm sure people will ask that question. The only complaints were that it really dried out peoples hair.
So, when I get my local clay analyzed, would someone from this forum be interested in writing up a "Benefits of Clay" piece for the event? I would link to this site from the Mud People Event website.
There is also a short movie that I put together about the event at my PROJECTOR site , see the signature below, hit the MOVIE link when you get inside!
.......... Thanks for your time! .......... Mike
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[Australiasearth]

hi mike,

i dont know much about clays in america but the best way to find out the properties of the clay is to approach a local mining company or a science college that can do an XRF or XRD analysis on the clay. this isnt very cheap, unfortunatly, here in oz i pay up to $120 for each analysis.
by the sound of things if the clay really dried out every ones hair there is a good chance is is a bit alkaline, you can test this yourself with a simple pH testing kit, these you can pick up at your local aquarium.

you may want to find some one locally who knows the calys there to do your write up for you, if you get stuck i would be happy to help but would need a sample to do some tests.

good luck with your venture and i am a bit jelous, i love rolling in the mud, havent done this in a couple of years, last time was at the mambo reserve not far from where i lived and the kids had a ball!
the best mud flats we had locally was filled in a turned into a golf course for the Japaneese tourists, what a waste!

[MikeBlackmore]

Hi Vickey and thanks for the reply! I'm pretty sure I can find a local lab to do that kind of analysis. This area is heavily into the petroleum refining industry and every plant has a science lab, I just wanted to know what type of analysis was needed. So if I ask for a XRF or XRD analysis then I should get the information I need. You mentioned that our clay may be a bit alkaline, is that a good thing?

Thanks Again ............. Mike

PS........ Checked out your Australiasearth website..... Very Nice!
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[Guest]

Hi Mike,

for cosmetic purposes a neutral or slightly acidic clay is preferred but alkaline clays also have a use for oily skin types.

the information usually supplied to us from our miners are:
regional geology, physical and chemical properties, cation exchange rate, particle size and distribution, MSDS (mineral safety data sheets)

our zeolite supplier even supplied a diagram of the crystal structure and its nature.

all this is just to determine if the clay or mineral is safe and to give an idea of its properties and abilities, the real test is how it feels on your skin and how your skin feels after use

vic

[MikeBlackmore]

I found it quite comfortable to be covered in the clay, and when washed off, my skin was super smooth so it seems to exfoliate really well, that may be because of rubbing the clay on. Some people were uncomfortable to be covered but it might be because it was the first time they had done anything like that.

.......... Mike
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[eytonsearth]

Hi Mike...

Thanks for stopping by, I enjoyed visiting your website.

Vickey has provided some excellent advice for you!

However, when possible, atomic adsorption is a a useful addition to XRF and XRD.

To clarify, each process reveals something different about the clay:

http://www.cetco.com/groups/ww/Testing.asp

Good information on AS, XRF, and XRD

http://www.smianalytical.com/

http://www.smianalytical.com/analytical-laboratory-services.html

Good information on clay analysis in general.

Atomic Adsorption measures, in PPM, the amounts of exchangeable elements in a clay.

XRD identifies the presence of minerals/elements in clay, but does not give an accurate amount.

Standford University has a good reference/lab write-up of available analytical services here:

http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/waac/wn/wn20/wn20-2/wn20-206.html

Notice that very few labs use an AAS ( an atomic adsorption spectrometer ).

Comparing the particle size readings from a Malvern Zetasizer...

http://www.malvern.co.uk/LabEng/products/Mastersizer/MS2000/mastersizer2000.htm

and readings from TEM/SEM provides the full scope of particle size characteristics.

Best Regards!
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[alexhull]

Hi all
I see reference is made to SMI Analytical.
I have used there facilities for clay analysis in the past/present, as they are much cheaper than Clay laboratories in Italy,even though they are based in South Africa the cost of DHL was negligable compared to savings.I have been very impressed with services, sent them sample of our healing clay which had been tested at Roma University and results were identical but at half the price.
www.smianalytical.co.za

Regards Alexandro

[MikeBlackmore]

Hello all, and thanks for all the info. Lake Huron is warming up enough for me to get out there and scoop up a clay sample for analysis. I have contacted a local testing company, the cost of mineral analysis by them seems to be way out of the budget for the project that I am putting together, but they are doing a public document search for any information that is already out there. They are geared mostly to finding toxicity levels since this is a major oil refinery/chemical production area. And that is my major concern, a detailed mineral composition of the clay would be great but at present I would like to know if there are any contaminants in what we plan to cover ourselves with. Anyway, I'll keep at it! Thanks again for the info! ......... Mike
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[MikeBlackmore]

Hello all, well I never did get an analysis on my clay but did find that there were no reports of contaminants along the Lake Huron shore. I did find a government paper that reported the clay about twenty miles north of here contained some quantity of Illium. Anyway, we went ahead with "the day" and had a great time. I have some of the website built, still adding to it when I have time. Take a look, your comments will be much appreciated and welcome!
Mud People Event 2006

Last time I was in the lake was Oct. 5 , and we just had snow yesterday, so now summer is really gone.
.................... Mike
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[helmi]

Hello everyone,
my name is helmi.
1st of all i would like to apologize if what im going to write here is not relevant to the thread.hehe
btw, i am a student from malaysia who is studying in petroleum area,now i am taking my final year project regarding with the drilling mud (bentonite) and zeolite. from what ive been asked, my task are, to do some investigation on the ion--exchange in the mud(bentonite), then check the cation-exchange capacity after i mix with the zeolite. I have run several experiments such as XRD, and XRF.(and already got the results, 2 for bentonite with diff types and 1 zeolite ZSM-5)
basically if we do XRD and XRF analysis with the mud, what are actually we are looking for?are we looking for the element inside the mud?

its kinda weird to ask here,but i am working alone in my project,without real supervisor it really tough task. i hope someone who has experience out there can help me.

[turquoisegrece]

Just found two bentonites here in NZ.
What kind of analysis should I do to find out if I can use it internally? The normal analysis metionned here or more? Have you got on the site a plain page or article just about analysing clay? Any microbial, bacterial analyse to do?