In accordance with the recently signed Resolution of the President of Turkmenistan, the Balkan Career Administration of the Ministry of Industry and Construction Production is allowed to take a share participation as a founder in the creation of the Open Joint Stock Company "Türkmen Kaolin" with a 49% share in the authorized capital. This decision is aimed at creating favorable conditions in the country for market relations and diversifying the national economy, as well as at further improving the activities of institutions and enterprises in the construction and industrial sectors. In particular, the change in the organizational and legal form and the reconstruction of the kaolin shop of the Balkan Quarry Administration will increase the productivity of the enterprise and will help create new jobs and save money spent on the purchase of necessary raw materials abroad.
Kaolin has been known to man for a long time. This white clay was first found in southeastern China and got its name from Kao-ling Mountain. The primary constituent in kaolin is mineral kaolinite, a hydrous aluminum silicate formed by the decomposition of minerals such as feldspar. Already in the 7th-8th centuries, the Chinese began to use kaolin to make their famous porcelain.
Kaolin is sometimes called a natural miracle, which has many beneficial properties, thanks to which it can be used in a wide variety of fields - from industry to medicine and cosmetology. Enriched kaolin is used as a raw material in the production of porcelain, faience, fine electrical ceramics; as a filler in the manufacture of paper, rubber, plastics. Kaolin is used for the manufacture of calico and other bookbinding materials, it is a part of pesticides, cosmetic and perfumery products.
The preeminence in the use of kaolin belongs not to the production of porcelain and tableware, where it still serves as a valuable component, giving color, shine and hardness to high-quality products, but to the paper industry, which prevails over all other industries. Kaolin serves as a coating that is applied to paper to enhance its appearance, contributing to smoothness, gloss, whiteness and printability. Using kaolin, the following items are produced: paints, cable insulation, special films and fertilizers. The newly discovered options for its use ensure that the mineral will remain in demand for a very long time.
In addition, today pharmaceutical companies use kaolin in their preparations, as it has a cleansing, tonic and general health effect on the body. Hippocrates wrote about the healing properties of clay (Bolus alba). Since ancient times, kaolin has been used not only in medicine, but also in cosmetology for face and body care. We come across it every morning when we take a tube of toothpaste in our hands: here kaolin is used as a light abrasive material, which, moreover, helps to remove tartar, whitens teeth and disinfects the oral cavity.
The establishment of Türkmen Kaolin OJSC will allow domestic entrepreneurs to establish the production of many types of products based on the use of local raw materials and contribute to the implementation of the national import substitution program.
Ogulgozel Rejepova
