Composition of virgin clay

The materials extracted for the preparation of the mature thermal mud come from the lakes in Arquà Petrarca and Lispida and represent two types of sediment:

 

1. ancient component, represented by the deposits of the plain accumulated during the geological era;
2. current component, represented by the sedimentation that occurs continuously at the bottom of the lakes.

 

The (ancient) component 1 probably represents the greatest part of the extracted mass because currently the lakes do not receive the flood materials of waterways (such as the Adige and Brenta rivers) which formed the alluvial mattress accumulated in the geological past.

 

For these genetic reasons, component 1, extracted from different depths, does not have a homogeneous composition because it represents different depositional environments and climatic contexts that have followed one another over time. Consequently, at different depths, there are different mineralogical granulometries and different biogenic contributions.

 

The (current) component 2 has been quite constant over the years following the regulation of the waterways and the post-glacial climatic stability.

 

 

 

However, exceptional events, such as small landslides upstream of the lakes, as well as  seasons with high rainfall and the instability of the submerged slopes, can bring volumes of mud to the bottom of the lakes.

 

A good indicator of the overall characteristics of the extracted materials is represented by the complete chemical analysis (major and minor elements) since the analytical techniques provide accurate quantitative data of broad international significance as they are based on interlaboratory calibrations adopted all over the world.

 

It is worth underlining that the traceability of the origin of the virgin mud used in the spa facilities is guaranteed by Gestione Unica (Unified Management) of B.I.O.C.E.

 

 

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