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updated continuously; for suggestions please send an e-mail New Homepage of the DTTG The new webpage of the DTTG is online now. The content will be transferred soon. Please update your bookmark. 12th MECC 2026 After the 11th MECC 2024 in Pilsen/CZ, the next MECC will be organised by the DTTG. It will be held from 6-11 September 2026 in Zurich/CH. More information soon at: mecc2026.dttg.org and www.dttg.org. We hope to see you in Zurich! 18th Internationale Clay Conference (ICC) 2025, Dublin The ICC took place for the last time from 13 to 18 July. However, it was only the last ICC because future events will be merged with EuroClay to form Clay20XX, with the next one being Clay2027 in Madrid (ESP) in June 2027. The DTTG played a very active role at the ICC. Twelve sessions (approx. 1/3) were (co-)organised by DTTG members. The DTTG was highly visible thanks to a series of presentations. Selected contributions will be published in well-known clay mineralogical journals and in ‘Environmental Geotechnics’. We were also very pleased with the performance of our member Wolfgang Zucha (ETH Zurich), whose presentation ‘Stability and Solubility of Mg-Hydroxy-Interlayered Smectite (Mg-HIS)’ was awarded the prize for best student presentation.  Best student presentation at ICC2025. Award ceremony by Bruno Lanson and Ian Bourg. George Brown Lecture 2025, Award of the MinSoc UK and Ireland to Dr. Stephan Kaufhold (BGR Hannover) The ICC also provided the occasion for the presentation of the prestigious George Brown Lecture award. Following last year's award to Prof. Katja Emmerich (KIT), this year's prize was again presented to a member of the DTTG. Dr. Stephan Kaufhold (BGR Hannover) received the award in recognition of his work on bentonites and claystones, particularly with regard to final repository research. Congratulations!  The video recording of his lecture „About comparison of claystones as potential host rocks for radioactive waste“ is available here: www.minersoc.org/cmg-brown.html. Rock of the year 2025 - Clay The board of trustees of the Professional Association of German Geoscientists (Berufsverband Deutscher Geowissenschaftler e. V.) has decided to name clay as the ‘Rock of the Year 2025’. From the DTTG's point of view, this was of course a very good choice. At the corresponding ceremony in June at the Muskau Arch Geopark, our former president Dr Reinhard Kleeberg (TU Bergakademie Freiberg) described the diverse applications of "Clay as a fascinating rock and geomaterial". 11th International DTTG-Workshop "Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Clays and Clay Minerals" 2025 This year's 11th International Workshop of the DTTG was held in the beautiful and historic city of Krakow in Poland. The event was organised by the Institute of Geological Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IAP PAS) under the direction of Professor Derkowski and his dedicated team. The participants were offered a five-day programme that was very intense. The workshop covered lots of different topics. These are all things that modern clay mineral experts need to know: from XRD and current challenges in clay mineral characterisation to stable isotopes and ways to measure them. Beside an offered intensive theoretical background many practical exercises were carried out. The laboratories were very well equipped, and the participants were able to learn and apply the latest methods for analysing clay minerals. There was also a social programme, with a poster session where people could try local Polish beer and a workshop dinner where they could try the best Galician food. This gave people plenty of chances to talk about their work and meet new people. The next workshop will be held in Krakow again in 2027. It is a good idea to sign up early, as more people want to come than there are places. The DTTG would like to thank Professor Derkowski and his team for their excellent organisation and the exciting contributions.  REYNOLDS-CUP 2024 The 2024 (12th) biennial Reynolds Cup competition on quantitative mineralogical analysis was closed on 14th March 2024. 120 people registered covering 34 countries. The samples prepared were nominally identified as a 1) A kaolin, 2) A bentonite, and 3) A sandstone. Deadline for submission of results was 31st May 2024 – due to some delays with shipping samples postponed to the 31st of October 2024. The anonymous summary was sent on 22nd of January 2025 to all participants who submitted results. The top three contestants with the most accurate results will be officially announced at the XVIII International Clay Conference (13 - 18 Jul 2025, Dublin, IE). The names of the others will remain strictly confidential. Reynolds Cup 2024 organisers |
| update: 10 Oct 2025 Web-Moderator M. Ploetze |