The kaolin region of the Hirschau-Schnaittenbacher basin is one of the most important deposits of kaolin, silica sand and feldspar on the European continent.
The origin of the Hirschau-Schnaittenbach deposit lies about 250 million years in the past, in the so-called Middle Buntsandstein. At that time, a geological depression  was filled with the rubble and debris eroded from the higher-altitude regions to the south and southeast, which were made of granite and gneiss. Acidic drainage subsequently transformed the glimmer and feldspar components into kaolin.
State-of-the-art technology and complex classification methods are used to process the raw earth and extract the industrial minerals kaolin, feldspar and silica sand. This is done through the classification of various grain sizes with the help of washing drums, cyclone cascades and centrifuges, followed by dewatering by means of sedimentation, filtration and drying. Some kaolin products are also further refined using bleaches and a magnetic separator.