Dating back to the 16th century, this mining method was adopted by farmers who discovered ball clay beneath their land. Initially, they used to dig with whatever tools they had, but later on, specialized hand tools were created to increase the mining efficiency. In this method, shallow trenches were dug to remove the overlaying material. Then claycutters were used to extract the clay into lumps. The tools had to be washed repeatedly, given the plastic nature of the clay.

As the shallow trenches grew, they gave way to small open pits. Miners soon realized that once the clay is found in a particular area, it is likely to be there even in the vicinity; hence, they kept increasing the pit’s size. The mining process remained the same. But one challenge that prevailed was flooding the pits. Hand-operated pumps were used to remove water in such cases. This method was used for mining ball clay till almost the 19th century.

The problem of rainwater flooding the mines was solved using timber. Wood was used to create a square frame for the mine with a size of 18 to 24 feet. Miners dig as deep as 50 feet and extract better ball clay. A wooden crane called ‘crab’ was erected on top to help lift the clay extract to the surface using an elm bucket. This process vastly increased the speed of clay mining.

The square pit system started evolving and expanding, resulting in the early underground mining system. First, the claycutters would extract clay from the sides of the square pit and continue doing so, forming a bell-like shape underground. Then timber wood was again deployed in this excavation to support it. The space required for mining was only dug, and clay extracts were removed using buckets and ladders. By the 1870s, this method was the most prominent clay mining procedure.

The availability of high-rated pumps by the end of the century allowed miners to dig deeper. Eventually, underground mines of up to 200 feet became operations. By the 1930s, this system was modified to introduce underground mines that allowed the setup of a wagon system. Now clay extracts were transported to the surface in bigger wagons revolutionizing the mining volume.

Underground mining was expensive, given how resource intensive and unsafe it was. However, by the 1970s, miners started to realize the potential of opencast mining. Technology evolution played a significant role in this transition as miners could accurately predict clay deposits and were equipped with machines that could dig speedily.

Once a particular area of clay deposit was discovered, quarries ranging in size from four to sixty meters were excavated. The upper surface was removed till the clay deposits were reached, and they were then extracted using trucks and other mediums of transport. This mining method is used even today and has resulted in massive ball clay production across the globe.