[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: What's the truth about laterite



On Monday, Samuel Johansen wrote:

[snip]

> It goes on to say that true laterite is found in Hawaii, West Indies,
> Australia, Queensland, India, and China. Not the USA or Canada.

Laterite is a type of soil that forms in tropical climates.  Canada and
the upper 49 states of the US are not currently in tropical cimates and as
a result there are no *recent* soils in the 49 upper states or Canada that
can truly be called laterites.

From the point of view of a soil scientist that is the same thing as
saying that there are no laterites in the US (aside from Hawaii) or
Canada.

However...  all of North America has been in tropical climates at times in
the geologic past and there are areas in North America where small inliers
of ancient soils are preserved as rocks.  Some of those ancient soils
happen to be laterites.  The most well-known of those are probably the
bauxite deposits in Arkansas, but there are other areas as well.  In all
cases I think the ancient laterites are rocks and not something a soil
scientist is going to get worked up about.  They're definitely in the
geologists' domain.

> It seems obvious to me that what people are reffering to as laterite in
> the USA is not laterite at all, but clay.

That is quite possibly true, but there are ancient deposits formed from
lateritic soils so you can't say just on that basis of a product's
originating in North America that the product definitely isn't laterite.
It would be possible to tell with an X-ray diffraction analysis of the
material (which should be fairly inexpensive), probably coupled with a
chemical analysis.

> So what is Substrate Gold, clay or laterite? Where does it come from?

Karl Schoeler (spelling?) would have to answer that.

> Why aren't people concerned about this?

From comments I've read it appears that the users of Substrate Gold are
mostly happy with the product, regardless of whether it's a true laterite 
or something else.  If it does what it's claimed to do, then there isn't
much reason to be concerned.


Roger Miller
who is not a user of Substrate Gold or any other make of iron-bearing
soil.