extraction can be provided in a high ph medium enabling development of electronegativity on all the functional groups on the clay surfaces while phosphate is especially advantageous when used with montmorillonite other anions can be employed as well in accordance with the procedures described herein other extractants beside phosphate that are suitable for exfoliating clays are those capable of chelating intercalated cations via ionic interactions for calcium cations for example exemplary extractants include citrates such as sodium citrate potassium citrate and citric acid phosphonic acids and phosphonates such as 2 aminoethylphosphonic acid dimethyl methylphosphonate 1 hydroxy ethylidene 1 1 diphosphonic acid amino tris methylene phosphonic acid ethylenediamine tetra methylene phosphonic acid tetramethylenediamine tetra methylene phosphonic acid hexamethylenediamine tetra methylene phosphonic acid diethylenetriamine penta methylene phosphonic acid amino tris methylene phosphonic acid chelators such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid and derivatives of these acids such as the dow series of compounds such as versene u2122 100 chelating agent which is an aqueous solution of tetrasodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate and versenex u2122 80 chelating agent which is an aqueous solution of the pentasodium salt of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid and the like in embodiments it has been observed that clays exfoliated as described herein form stable and durable aqueous suspensions especially in high ph environments not to be bound by theory it is postulated that the ph sensitive charging of surface hydroxyls can be driven towards electronegativity in a high ph medium this charge repulsion between exfoliated platelets leads to their long term stability when suspended in a high ph solution as shown in the figures samples that have been treated in accordance with these formulations and methods remain more durably suspended than those that have.