Spodumene

Priced per pound.

This spodumene is a substitute from Laguna, is chemical grade, and sourced from Australia. It is used as a source of lithia, and is often used as a replacement for feldspar.
Lithium, serves two main purposes in ceramics: it is a very powerful flux, and it also lowers thermal expansion of a glaze, helping to better fit a claybody and stop crazing. Spodumene differs from lithium carbonate in chemical makeup, as spodumene contains a natural combination of silica, alumina, and lithium, which means it melts more readily than lithium carbonate on its own.

In glazes, spodumene can lend itself to the development of copper-blue toned glazes and promote a matte surface -- this, in spite of being a strong flux, which is precisely what so many potters find appealing about the material.

In clay bodies, some potters use spodumene as a replacement for feldspar (though it technically IS a feldspar). This additive reduces the vitrification temperature required for a body to mature, and also reduces thermal expansion.

Full bag is 50lbs