The Clay Minerals Society

What The Clay Minerals Society does

The Clay Minerals Society (CMS) is a private non-profit professional scientific organization founded in 1968 and headquartered in Chantilly, Virginia, with administrative support from Amara Enterprise, LLC. CMS serves the international community of clay mineralogists, geochemists, sedimentologists, soil scientists, and graduate students conducting research on clay materials. Its core offerings span three categories: (1) publications, including the peer-reviewed journal Clays and Clay Minerals (published since 1956, currently through Cambridge University Press since Volume 72 in 2024), a 22-volume Workshop Lecture Series, and Special Publications; (2) standardized physical reference materials, including the Source Clays Repository — each reference sample originally consisting of one metric ton of homogenized material — and Reynolds Cup Reference Mixtures used to benchmark analytical methods; and (3) community programming, including annual meetings (the 2025 meeting was held in Dublin), the Clayminar online webinar series launched in 2023, five named scientific awards, and Student Research Grants (up to $3,000) and Travel Awards (up to $1,500).

Name

The Clay Minerals Society

Legal name

The Clay Minerals Society

Website

https://clays.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Clay Minerals Society is a non-profit scientific organization founded in 1968 that serves global clay researchers through the peer-reviewed journal Clays and Clay Minerals, a standardized Source Clays Repository, the Reynolds Cup competition, annual meetings, student grants, and five scientific awards.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Scientific Society Services

NAICS

Ground or Treated Mineral and Earth Manufacturing (327992), Kaolin, Clay, and Ceramic and Refractory Minerals Mining (212323)

SIC

Abrasive, Asbestos & Misc Nonmetallic Mineral Prods (3290)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYIMAEAFAB

Kaolin & Ball Clay

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Chemicals & Industrial Materials/Industrial Minerals & Functional Fillers

SECONDARYIMAEAFAE

Bentonite & Other Smectite Clays

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Chemicals & Industrial Materials/Industrial Minerals & Functional Fillers

SECONDARYIMAKAKAA

Mineral Exploration & Geoscience Services (Geology, Geophysics, Geochemistry, Resource Modeling)

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Metals & Mining/Mining Services & Contracting (Exploration, Drilling, Blasting, Mine Operations)

Keywords

• Scientific professional society
• Clay mineralogy research
• Peer-reviewed journal publishing
• Standardized reference materials
• Scientific awards and grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Chantilly

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Publication Sales: Sale of Workshop Lecture Series volumes (Vols 2-22) ranging from $20-$45 per volume, Special Publications, Natural Zeolites publications, and back issues of Clays and Clay Minerals journal at $45 each or $265 per volume.
2. Source Clays Sales: Sale of standardized Source Clays at $150 per unit (125-250 grams) and Special Clays at various unit sizes. Also sells Reynolds Cup Reference Mixtures at $250 per unit (2-4 grams). Limited to Members, Small Labs and Universities. Not sold to distribution companies or resale vendors.
3. Membership Dues: Annual membership providing access to Clays and Clay Minerals journal through Elements magazine, discounted publication prices, and eligibility for awards and grants.
4. Student Grants and Awards: CMS provides Student Research Grants up to $3,000 and Travel Awards up to $1,000-$1,500 to support student attendance at annual meetings. These are funded through society resources.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Clay Minerals Society is a non-profit professional scientific society that advances clay mineralogy through a peer-reviewed journal (Clays and Clay Minerals), standardized physical reference clay materials (Source Clays Repository and Reynolds Cup Reference Mixtures), educational publications (Workshop Lecture Series and Special Publications), annual scientific meetings, and a structured program of scientific awards and student grants. It serves individual researchers, university laboratories, and geological survey institutions worldwide with products sold primarily through an online store and distributed via academic publishing partnerships.

Product overview

The Clay Minerals Society operates as a professional scientific society offering a portfolio of publications, reference materials, awards, and educational programs for the clay science research community. The core offerings include the peer-reviewed journal 'Clays and Clay Minerals' (published with Cambridge University Press), the CMS Workshop Lecture Series (22 volumes covering topics from quantitative mineral analysis to synchrotron methods), and Special Publications including Natural Zeolites and Kaolin research. The Source Clays Repository provides standardized reference clay samples for research comparison, while the Reynolds Cup Reference Mixtures support analytical method testing. The society supports students and researchers through Student Research Grants (up to $3,000), Student Travel Awards (up to $1,500), and five distinguished awards (Bailey, Brindley, Jackson, Huff, and Pioneer). The ClayMinar Series provides online educational events, and the society organizes Annual Meetings. Publications and materials are sold through the CMS Publications Store.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Clays and Clay Minerals: The official peer-reviewed journal of The Clay Minerals Society, published in collaboration with Cambridge University Press, covering all aspects of clay materials research.
• Clayminar Series

Products and services

• Clays and Clay Minerals (Journal) The official peer-reviewed journal of The Clay Minerals Society, published in collaboration with Cambridge University Press since 2024, covering research in mineralogy, crystallography, geology, geochemistry, sedimentology, soil science, and related fields. Journal has been in continuous publication since 1956.
• CMS Workshop Lecture Series Educational publication series accompanying workshops held at CMS annual meetings, covering topics in clay mineral analysis, environmental interactions, and advanced applications. 22 volumes published to date since 1989. Priced $20-$45 per volume.
• Special Publications Special issues and publications including Natural Zeolites, Kaolin Genesis and Utilization, and Source Clays baseline studies. Priced $15-$45 per issue.
• Source Clays Repository A repository offering standardized reference clay samples (Source Clays and Special Clays) for research comparison, including kaolinites, montmorillonites, hectorites, nontronites, and other clay minerals from documented geological origins. Each original sample consisted of one metric ton. Priced at $150 per unit (125-250 grams), limited to 4 units per type. Sales restricted to Members, Small Labs, and Universities.
• Reynolds Cup Reference Mixtures Standardized clay-bearing reference materials for testing analytical methods in qualitative and quantitative mineral phase analysis. Sold as 2-4 gram units at $250 per unit, with a 4-unit limit per Reynolds Cup type. Mixtures include various clay types from petroleum shale to Martian volcanic sediment.
• ClayMinar Series An online series of CMS events including workshops and educational presentations such as 'How to write a paper' and 'How to Apply for a Student Grant', available as video recordings on YouTube.
• Student Research Grants Partial financial support grants for students of clay science and technology, with individual grant requests up to $3,000 for travel, research costs, equipment, supplies, and analyses.
• Student Travel Awards Partial financial support for students to attend CMS annual meetings, with awards up to $1,000 for intracontinental and $1,500 for intercontinental travel.
• Marilyn and Sturges W. Bailey Distinguished Member Award The highest honor of CMS, awarded for scientific eminence in clay mineralogy based on outstanding original research. Includes $2,000 honorarium and waived conference registration.
• George W. Brindley Clay Science Lecture Award Recognition for a clay scientist who is a dynamic speaker involved in innovative research, with expectation of delivering public lectures. Includes $2,000 honorarium plus $3,000 for public lecture delivery and $1,000 for published manuscript.
• Marion L. & Chrystie M. Jackson Mid-Career Clay Scientist Award Award recognizing mid-career scientists (ages 39-60) for excellence in contributing new knowledge to clay minerals science through original and scholarly research. Includes $2,000 honorarium and $1,000 upon manuscript acceptance.
• Warren Huff Clay Science Pathway Award Endowed award supporting early-career researchers within 5 years of latest graduate degree, encouraging involvement in CMS activities and annual meetings.
• Pioneer in Clay Science Lecture Award Recognition for individuals who have made pioneering contributions to clay science, presented at annual meetings. Includes $2,000 honorarium and waived registration.
• Annual Meetings CMS annual conferences bringing together clay science researchers worldwide including Euroclay conferences, featuring presentations, workshops, Reynolds Cup competition, and networking opportunities.
• CMS Publications Store Online e-commerce platform for purchasing publications, source clays, and Reynolds Cup reference mixtures, with two-step ordering process and credit card payment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Standardized Source Clays enable comparable data across different research laboratories worldwide
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Cambridge University PresscoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership for publishing Clays and Clay Minerals journal (since 2024, Volume 72). Cambridge provides access to the journal's full archive and new content through their platform.
• GeoScience WorldcoreTechnology or IntegrationProvides online access to Clays and Clay Minerals journal through the GSW platform, complementing Cambridge University Press distribution.
• SpringerNaturecoreTechnology or IntegrationCMS makes Clays and Clay Minerals available in electronic form through partnership with SpringerNature.
• Elements Magazine ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCMS is a participating publisher in Elements (ISSN 18115209), an international magazine of mineralogy, geochemistry, and petrology. Available online through Elements website. Included in CMS membership.
• Arumpo Bentonite Pty LtdminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDonated SAu-1 Na-rich Montmorillonite samples from Victoria, Australia, collected in 2019 for the Source Clays Repository.
• NL Industries (Baroid Division)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerManufacturer of Barasym SSM-100 synthetic mica-montmorillonite (SYn-1) included in the Source Clays collection.
• Sud-Chemie Rheologicals / United Catalysts Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerManufacturer of Optigel SH synthetic hectorite (SYnH-1) included in Special Clays collection.
• Southern Clay Products Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerManufacturer of Synthetic laponite (SYnL-1) included in Special Clays collection.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• American Chemical Society: ACS is the world's largest scientific society, publishing dozens of peer-reviewed chemistry journals (including Clays and Clay Minerals topics peripherally in JACS, Langmuir) and serving chemistry-adjacent mineral researchers. A broader incumbent peer addressing some of the same applied clay chemistry research community.
• American Geophysical Union: AGU is a much larger, broader scientific society publishing multiple top-tier geoscience journals (JGR, Geophysical Research Letters) and hosting large annual meetings. It overlaps with CMS through shared membership, earth-science research themes, but operates at far greater scale and scope.
• Geological Society of America: GSA is a large, established non-profit geological society publishing Geology, GSA Bulletin, and organizing the annual GSA Meeting. It serves an overlapping community of geoscientists with broader disciplinary coverage, functioning as a broader incumbent peer to CMS's specialized clay science focus.

Direct peers

• Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland: The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland is a non-profit mineralogical society publishing journals (Mineralogical Magazine) and Clay Minerals—the latter being a direct thematic overlap with CMS—and serving a similar UK/European clay and mineral science community with shared conferences like Euroclay.
• Geochemical Society: The Geochemical Society is a non-profit scientific society publishing the journal Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta and organizing Goldschmidt Conference participation. Same membership/journal/awards structure, with overlapping earth-science researcher customer base, making it a directly analogous peer to CMS.
• Soil Science Society of America: Soil Science Society of America is a non-profit scientific society publishing peer-reviewed journals on soil science, including applications of clay mineralogy. It operates a similar membership, awards, and conference-driven model targeting an overlapping applied earth-science research community.
• Mineralogical Society of America: The Mineralogical Society of America is the closest US-based peer to CMS: a non-profit scientific society that publishes a peer-reviewed mineralogy journal (American Mineralogist), offers awards and grants, hosts meetings, and serves an overlapping community of earth-science researchers with comparable funding, governance, and revenue model structures.
• International Association of Sedimentologists: IAS is a non-profit international scientific society publishing the journal Sedimentology and organizing research conferences for sedimentary geologists—an overlapping community with CMS, particularly around clay mineral analysis in sedimentary and shale systems.
• European Mineralogical Union: The European Mineralogical Union is a pan-European non-profit federation of national mineralogical societies. It serves a similar mineralogical research community through conferences, schools, and publications, including joint organization of Euroclay—the European counterpart meeting where CMS participates.

Others

• Cambridge University Press: Cambridge University Press is the publishing partner for Clays and Clay Minerals (since 2024). It is an adjacent ecosystem participant—provides distribution, archival, and subscription infrastructure that is foundational to CMS's journal revenue model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ClayMinSociety
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCmGjH3zJ8tF9XmK1J5R2R3w
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheClayMineralsSociety
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-clay-minerals-society

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Clay Minerals Society