· Bentonite was used by local Indians as a bleaching clay and as a washing agent.
· Pioneers used Bentonite as a substitute for axle grease, to cure inflamed horses hoofs, and to waterproof roofs of dwellings.
· Bentonite was originally named Taylorite after William Taylor of Rock Creek, Wyoming, who made the first commercial shipments in 1888. However, in 1898, Dr. S.H. "Sam" Knight, the former State Geologist of Wyoming, learned Taylorite was already used in England for another mineral, and renamed the clay Bentonite after the Benton Formation where the mineral is found.
· In the 1920s, Bentonite was used mainly for cosmetics. In addition, the foundry industry started using Bentonite. Bentonite was first used for drilling mud in an oil well in California in 1928.
· The first processing plant in Wyoming was Owyee Chemical Company in Cheyenne in the 1920s.
· In the 1960s, another use was found for Bentonite. The bonding abilities of Bentonite made it an excellent material for iron ore pelletizing
Wyoming Bentonite Production and Employment (taken from State Inspector of Mines)
| Year | Mine
Production |
Mill
Production |
Employees
(Mine+Mill) |
| 2008 | 6,284,419 | 3,606,154 |
841 |
| 2007 | 5,890,629 | 4,677,305 |
848 |
| 2006 | 6,102,218 | 4,911,364 |
798 |
| 2005 | 5,204,289 | 4,616,408 | 815 |
| 2004 |
5,245,540 |
4,537,423 | 743 |
| 2003 |
3,760,805 |
3,918,687 | 692 |
| 2002 |
3,454,582 |
3,470,634 | 669 |
| 2001 | 4,777,026 |
3,522,764 | 704 |
| 2000 | 4,179,503 |
3,278,762 | 672 |
| 1999 |
4,073,765 |
3,456,663 | 644 |
|
1998 |
4,528,161 |
709 |
|
|
1997 |
4,664,220 |
749 |
|
|
1996 |
4,356,269 |
682 |
|
|
1995 |
4,227,040 |
690 |
|
|
1994 |
3,278,583 |
595 |
· Significant growth for Wyoming Bentonite Production did not occur until after the depression in the 1930s, probably due to lack of industrial activity.
· In 1940, production reached 100,000 tons
· In 1953, over half of all U.S. production of Bentonite occurred in Wyoming
· Production leveled off in the late 1950s, probably due to the economic recession. However, the uses for Bentonite in iron ore pellets and other types of pelletizing were discovered, and more demand was created which spurred a large growth in production. · Wyoming Bentonite production reached 1 million tons in 1956
· Bentonite production reached 2 million tons in 1966
· In the early 1980s, Wyoming Bentonite went from boom to bust. The oil industry, which accounted for 40 percent of Wyoming Bentonite production, collapsed. Before the oil industry collapse, the Bentonite industry had a shortage of processing plants. After the collapse, the Bentonite plants were only running at 50 percent capacity.
