A Random Intergrowth of Sepiolite and Attapulgite

The smectic clays from Cabo de Gata region, Almeria, Spain, are composed mainly of mont-morillonite, but they contain appreciable quantities of fibrous clay minerals, some of which are of the palygorskite type. However, there also is a mineral that has properties intermediate between those of palygorskite and sepiolite. Its structure seems to be a random intergrowth of both.