The rapid development of the ceramic pole of Santa Gertrudes (São Paulo-Brazil) during the 90's was caused by the privileged localization of the raw material in conjunction with the technological development, large reserves, easy access of the highways helping the draining of the products as well as the proximity of the great consuming centers. This development led the ceramic pole to a "boom" in the decade of 90, entering its maturity phase, producing 367 million m² in the year of 2007, thus becoming the biggest Ceramic Pole in the American continent. According to the geological studies carried out in this work, the rocks of the Corumbataí Formation, source of the commodity used in the ceramic pole, were classified in five lithofacies: massive, laminated, intercalated I, intercalated II and altered. These lithofacies were considered by their mineralogy and chemistry to be melting clays with predominance of illite. Regarding the characteristic properties, the laboratory results demonstrated the majority of the samples to lie inside the Group BIIb (Absorption of water between 6 and 10%); it is compatible with the Classification of Ceramic Coverings.
ceramic industry; Corumbataí Formation; floor tiles; raw material
