Cambrian Afaline Clay

Russia – RU056A
Composition: Clay
Colour: Green
Shape: Raw

Hard, quite dense, breaks down in water, slight algae and cement taste.

This beautiful blueish sample was acquired through the webshop www.OlgaShopChalk.ru for the price of $4 per 100 grams in April 2017.

Cambrian clays originate in various places in Russia. They get their natural blue colour from iron, zinc and algae. Cambrian clays are healing clays that are widely used in health resorts and spa centres for skin treatments. But they are also eaten by earth eaters, as well as sold on the Russian market as an official food supplement. Russian cambrian blue clay is not as well-known as its cousins, kaolin and pink clay, but it is believed to be the oldest blue clay on the planet.

The term ‘cambrian’ refers to the first paleozoic period, the cambrian, which dates back approximately 600 million years. In this era, continents were inundated with rising sea levels, which resulted in thick sedimentary deposits. In some areas of North America, Europe, and Asia this resulted in the formation of sandstone, shale, and limestone. In some regions of Russia, the earth separated to form an isolated land mass, with the formation of sediment now known as cambrian blue clay. The cambrian beds are unusual in the way that they contain sand and clay which have been largely undisturbed for a long period of time.

Sources:
● ‘Russian Cambrian Blue Clay’, Amazon (English), accessed on 16/06/2022 www.amazon.com
● ‘Russian Cambrian Blue Clay’, Bulk Naturals (English), accessed on 16/06/2022 www.bulknaturalswholesale.com