PUMICE ORIGINS
BORN OF EARTH AND FIRE, Pumice is formed during volcanic pyroclastic events, typically spewed as ash
that falls and drifts into deposits or as part of a massive pyroclastic flow.
Many factors affect the useful quality, colour, and purity of a Pumice deposit,
but on a chemical analysis level, Pumice is basically an aluminium silicate.
With no crystalline structure, Pumice is a naturally calcined amorphous glass
made up of a maze of air-filled vesicles.
The
word Pumice is derived from the Latin word pumex, meaning foam.
Deep underground, molten rock incorporates water and other gases, and when the
magma erupts from a volcanic vent, the gases flash off, leaving behind a
frothy, vesicle-riven structure that quickly cools, solidifying the foamy structure.
Pumice enjoys a
well-deserved green cred, as it is an abundant and sustainable resource, easily
mined from surface deposits, and, having been naturally calcined (super-heated)
in the fiery heat of a volcano, the only refining needed is to crush and screen
it to grade.
