Raw materials for structural clay products in the Abha-Khamis Mushayt area, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Abha and Khamis Mushayt, rapidly growing twin cities in southwestern Saudi Arabia, would benefit greatly by having an indigenous source of structural clay products. Conventional sources of high-quality raw materials, i.e., clay and shale, are lacking in the dominantly igneous and metamorphic terrain. Although not of high quality, colluvium and wadi silts are the most probable sources of raw material for hollow ware. The thick, widespread wadi silts near Hamdah are the largest potential source of raw material, but are 125 km from the market area. The siliceous kaolinite in the As Sarat laterite might be beneficiated to a suitable raw material for ceramic tile by grinding and possibly by addition of kaolinite from near Suleiman.