Kaolinite is a clay mineral， part of the group of industrial minerals， with the chemical composition Al2Si2O5(OH)4. It is a layered silicate mineral， with one tetrahedral sheet linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral sheet of alumina octahedra.Rocks that are rich in kaolinite are known as kaolin or china clay.
The name is derived from Chinese Kao-Ling ， a village near Jingdezhen， Jiangxi province， China. The name entered English in 1727 from the French version of the word: kaolin， following Francois Xavier d'；Entrecolles'；s reports from Jingdezhen. In Africa， kaolin is sometimes known as kalaba ， calaba， and calabachop .
