Clay products and fractionation treatment of heterogeneous aggregates such as clay

Claim 1

A METHOD OF FRACTIONATING HETEROGENOUS NATURALLY OCCURING ORES AND EARTH-TYPE MATERIALS CONTAINING TWO OR MORE SOLID FINE PARTICLE COMPONENTS OF DIFFERING ABSORPTIVE CHARACTERISTICS TO HYDROPHILIC COLLOIDAL MATERIALS, EACH SAID COMPONENT SUSCEPTIBLE OF DEFLOCCULATION, COMPRISING THE STEPS OF ESTABLISHING AN AQUEOUS SUSPENSION OF THE MIXTURE WHEREIN THE SEVERAL COMPONENTS ARE ALL DEFLOCCULATED, ADJUSTING THE CONDITION OF THE SUSPENSION BY ADDING THERETO A HYDROPHILIC COLLODIAL MATERIAL CAPABLE OF BEING ADSORBED SUBSTANTIALLY ONLY ON THE SURFACES OF THOSE COMPONENTS HAVING COMMON ADSORPTIVE CHARACTERISTICS IN THE PRESENCE OF A DEFLOCCULANT FOR SAID MIXTURE WHEREBY SAID COMPONENTS OF COMMON ADSORPTIVE CHARACTERISTICS ARE MAINTAINING THE BALANCE OF THE COMPONENTS IN THE DEFLOCCULATED STATE IN THE PRESENCE OF SAID DEFLOCCULANT, AND SEPARATING THE PRECIPITATE AND THE SUPERNATANT SUSPENSION CONTAINING THE BALANCE OF THE COMPONENTS.

Claim 2

A METHOD OF FRACTIONATING HETEROGENOUS NATURALLY OCCURING ORES AND EARTH-TYPE MATERIALS CONTAINING TWO OR MORE SOLID FINE PARTICLE COMPONENTS OF DIFFERING ABSORPTIVE CHARACTERISTICS TO HYDROPHILIC COLLOIDAL MATERIALS, EACH SAID COMPONENT SUSCEPTIBLE OF DEFLOCCULATION, COMPRISING THE STEPS OF ESTABLISHING AN AQUEOUS SUSPENSION OF THE MIXTURE WHEREIN THE SEVERAL COMPONENTS ARE ALL DEFLOCCULATED, ADJUSTING THE CONDITION OF THE SUSPENSION BY ADDING THERETO A HYDROPHILIC COLLODIAL MATERIAL CAPABLE OF BEING ADSORBED SUBSTANTIALLY ONLY ON THE SURFACES OF THOSE COMPONENTS HAVING COMMON ADSORPTIVE CHARACTERISTICS IN THE PRESENCE OF A DEFLOCCULANT FOR SAID MIXTURE WHEREBY SAID COMPONENTS OF COMMON ADSORPTIVE CHARACTERISTICS ARE MAINTAINING THE BALANCE OF THE COMPONENTS IN THE DEFLOCCULATED STATE IN THE PRESENCE OF SAID DEFLOCCULANT, AND SEPARATING THE PRECIPITATE AND THE SUPERNATANT SUSPENSION CONTAINING THE BALANCE OF THE COMPONENTS.