The pedological horizons of soil profiles developed from pre-cambrian rocks of the municipalities of Alfenas and Areado, MG, Brazil, as well as the alluvial-colluvial sediments associated has been used intensively for ceramic potteries (particularly for bricks) but without a detailed study to rationalize their use in the ceramic industry. However, despite the proximity of these cities, according to skilled workers of the brickworks, the raw materials from Areado have shown higher quality than those from Alfenas. Such fact led to development of the present study aimed to compare the mineralogical (macroscopic description and X-ray diffraction), chemical chemical (X-ray fluorescence and organic carbon test) and technological (particle size distribution of pressing, laser scattering, mechanical strength, water absorption, apparent porosity, firing linear shrinkage, color of firing, etc) in order to gather knowledge about the raw material of the studied regions and develop suitable technological applications. The best quality of raw material originating from Areado (AR Group) is due to the larger amounts of clay minerals such kaolinite, illite and smectite associated with a finer grain size, which contributed to a better sintering.
clay; kaolinite; red tiles
