2022 NAICS national industry in sector 21 Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction
212323 Kaolin, Clay, and Ceramic and Refractory Minerals Mining
NAICS 212323 is the US industry code for kaolin, clay, and ceramic and refractory minerals mining. This U.S.
- Code
- 212323 (2022 NAICS)
- Title
- Kaolin, Clay, and Ceramic and Refractory Minerals Mining
- Part of
- Sand, Gravel, Clay, and Ceramic and Refractory Minerals Mining and Quarrying
- SBA small business limit
- Up to 650 employees
- Closest UK SIC
- 08990 (details)
Changes coming. The NAICS 2027 revision applies to data from 1 January 2027, and SBA proposed new size standards on 20 August 2026. The values on this page are the ones in force today; we update this page when the official files change.
Official definition
This U.S. industry comprises (1) establishments primarily engaged in developing the mine site and/or mining clay (e.g., china clay, paper clay and slip clay) or ceramic and refractory minerals and (2) establishments primarily engaged in beneficiating (i.e., preparing) clay or ceramic and refractory minerals.
Examples Census gives
- Bentonite mining and/or beneficiating
- Fuller's earth mining and/or beneficiating
- Common clay mining and/or beneficiating
- Kaolin mining and/or beneficiating
- Feldspar mining and/or beneficiating
- Ball clay mining and/or beneficiating
- Fire clay mining and/or beneficiating
- Shale (except oil shale) mining and/or beneficiating
When to use a different code
Census classifies these close-sounding activities somewhere else. Businesses mainly engaged in:
- Shaping, molding, glazing, and firing pottery, ceramics, and plumbing fixtures are classified in Industry 327110, Pottery, Ceramics, and Plumbing Fixture Manufacturing.
- Shaping, molding, baking, burning, or hardening clay and nonclay refractories, and structural clay products are classified in Industry 327120, Clay Building Material and Refractories Manufacturing.
- Calcining, dead burning, or otherwise processing (i.e., beyond basic preparation) clay or ceramic and refractory minerals are classified in U.S. Industry 327992, Ground or Treated Mineral and Earth Manufacturing.
- Oil shale mining and/or beneficiating are classified in Industry 211120, Crude Petroleum Extraction.
Activities listed under 212323
The Census index assigns these 43 activities to this code. If your business matches one, this is your code.
- Andalusite mining and/or beneficiating
- Aplite mining and/or beneficiating
- Ball clay mining and/or beneficiating
- Bentonite mining and/or beneficiating
- Bleaching clay mining and/or beneficiating
- Brucite mining and/or beneficiating
- Burley mining and/or beneficiating
- China clay mining and/or beneficiating
- Clay bleaching
- Clay mining and/or beneficiating
- Clay, ball, mining and/or beneficiating
- Clay, ceramic and refractory minerals, mining and/or beneficiating
- Clay, fire, mining and/or beneficiating
- Clay, natural, mining and/or beneficiating
- Common clay mining and/or beneficiating
- Common shale mining and/or beneficiating
- Cornwall stone mining and/or beneficiating
- Cyanite mining and/or beneficiating
- Diaspore mining and/or beneficiating
- Dumortierite mining and/or beneficiating
- Earth, fuller's (e.g., all natural bleaching clays), mining and/or beneficiating
- Feldspar mining and/or beneficiating
- Fire clay mining and/or beneficiating
- Flint clay mining and/or beneficiating
- Fuller's earth mining and/or beneficiating
- Kaolin mining and/or beneficiating
- Kyanite mining and/or beneficiating
- Laterite mining and/or beneficiating
- Magnesite mining and/or beneficiating
- Nepheline syenite mining and/or beneficiating
- Olivine, non-gem, mining and/or beneficiating
- Paper clay mining and/or beneficiating
- Pegmatite, feldspar, mining and/or beneficiating
- Pinite mining and/or beneficiating
- Plastic fire clay mining and/or beneficiating
- Refractory minerals mining and/or beneficiating
- Rubber clay mining and/or beneficiating
- Shale (except oil shale) mining and/or beneficiating
- Sillimanite mining and/or beneficiating
- Slip clay mining and/or beneficiating
- Stoneware clay mining and/or beneficiating
- Syenite, nepheline, mining and/or beneficiating
- Topaz, non-gem, mining and/or beneficiating
SBA size standard for 212323
To count as a small business for SBA loans and federal contracts under NAICS 212323, your business (including affiliates) must not exceed 650 employees. Check your business.
Source: SBA table of size standards, effective March 17, 2023.
Closest UK SIC 2007 codes
There is no official one-to-one link between NAICS and UK SIC. These codes share the same international class (ISIC Rev. 4: 0810, 0899), so treat them as a starting point and check the definition.
Built from Census concordances 2022→2017 NAICS and 2017 NAICS→ISIC Rev. 4.
Similar codes to compare
Data last changed November 14, 2026. How this page is built.