{"id":27455,"date":"2026-05-22T14:20:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T19:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/?p=27455"},"modified":"2026-05-22T09:25:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T14:25:48","slug":"south-korea-has-confirmed-the-existence-of-the-largest-known-deposit-of-illite-a-type-of-clay-used-in-batteries-cosmetics-and-oil-drilling-under-yeongdong-with-reserves-of-104-5-millio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/cosmetics\/south-korea-has-confirmed-the-existence-of-the-largest-known-deposit-of-illite-a-type-of-clay-used-in-batteries-cosmetics-and-oil-drilling-under-yeongdong-with-reserves-of-104-5-millio-27455\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korea has confirmed the existence of the largest known deposit of illite\u2014a type of clay used in batteries, cosmetics, and oil drilling\u2014under Yeongdong, with reserves of 104.5 million tons, leaving China far behind"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A quiet wine town in South Korea has suddenly become the center of a much bigger resource story. Yeongdong County<\/a>, better known for wine trails and a jazz festival, is now reported to hold about 115 million U.S. tons of illite, a clay mineral used in cosmetics, oil drilling, agriculture, and battery research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The finding came after a survey commissioned by Yeongdong County and carried out with the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources. Local officials say the deposit is more than 20 times larger than major known overseas deposits, including China\u2019s roughly 5.5 million U.S. tons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes illite useful<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Illite<\/a> is a fine clay mineral that forms in rocks such as shale and sandstone. It is not rare in nature, but a deposit this large and commercially useful is a very different matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read More: French scientists confirm it: sugar is essential for consolidating memories, and they demonstrate that hunger and memory are linked<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Its particles are tiny, soft, and plate-like. That helps explain why illite can show up in skincare products<\/a>, drilling materials, animal feed, fertilizers, and fillers for paper or paint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also resists heat up to about 1,110 degrees Fahrenheit and can absorb heavy metals<\/a>. In practical terms, that means it may help in products designed to clean, stabilize, thicken, or protect materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why batteries enter the story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So why would battery researchers care about clay? The answer sits inside solid-state batteries, a technology being studied as a safer alternative to today\u2019s lithium-ion batteries with liquid electrolytes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read More: South Korea has confirmed the existence of the largest known deposit of illite\u2014a type of clay used in batteries, cosmetics, and oil drilling\u2014under Yeongdong, with reserves of 104.5 million tons, leaving China far behind<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A 2024 study by Minseong Bae, Seongki Ahn, Hong-Il Kim, Jinjoo Park, and colleagues at Cheongju University and Hankyong National University tested Yeongdong illite as a filler in polymer-based solid electrolytes. The team found that treated illite improved lithium-ion movement in lab tests, which is one of the key challenges for this kind of battery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That does not mean clay from Yeongdong is about to power every electric car. But it does make the deposit more interesting, because it connects a local mineral<\/a> supply with an industry racing to build safer and more energy-dense batteries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A county that started early<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yeongdong had already moved before the global attention arrived. In 2017, the county secured mining rights across about 5,000 acres and began building a local industry around illite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mineral also slipped into the county\u2019s public identity. Local products have included cosmetics, fertilizers, building materials, and animal feed, while wellness attractions have used illite as part of the tourism pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new survey gives that strategy a stronger base. Korean reports say the work used geological investigation, drilling, physical exploration, and 3D modeling to estimate the deposit across Yeongdong and Yanggang areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What happens next<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The key question now is not just how much illite is underground. It is whether Yeongdong can turn that supply into consistent, certified, high-value materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That takes processing, quality control, and buyers who trust the source. Reports from South Korea say the county is also working on a standardization support center and wants Yeongdong illite recognized as an international reference material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read More: The difference between smoking, vaping, and using heated tobacco, according to a new scientific study<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

For South Korea, the timing matters. The country depends heavily on imported raw materials, so a reliable domestic clay source could help manufacturers in several sectors, even if illite is not a strategic metal like lithium or tungsten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, mining is only the first chapter. The real test will be whether this quiet wine county can turn a massive clay deposit into a long-term industrial advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main battery study was published in Coatings<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A quiet wine town in South Korea has suddenly become the center of a much bigger resource story. Yeongdong County, … <\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":27456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cosmetics","resize-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27455"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27455\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27457,"href":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27455\/revisions\/27457"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}