Nikom Chimnok on fri 17 mar 00
----------------------Original question-------------------------------------
>Where can you find a pound of clay for 25 cents?
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I calculate the cost of our finished clay at .8 cents per pound, dry weight,
exclusive of overhead, like the cost of the pugmill and the roof it sits
under, etc. The .8 cents includes digging it by backhoe from beside the
river half a mile away, hauling it here in dumptrucks, grinding it plus 20%
grog plus 20% washed kaolinite (which costs about 1.2 cents per pound),
slaking and pugging it. It's dug and hauled around 1000 tons at a time, the
kaolinite purchased 12 tons at a time, and the grog ground as needed. I
figure the added weight of the nearly free water cancels out the overhead.
Most of the cost is labor. Tho it seems very cheap, the clay accounts for
nearly 5% of total production costs.
Nikom in Thailand, where we're now regularly hitting 100 F in the afternoon.
Winter's over.
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