Synthetic mineral microparticles (SMM) is a patented system which has been developed to promote drainage of water and retention of fine particles during papermaking. It is shown in patents that the SMM system can have advantages in both of drainage and retention, compared with montmorillonite (bentonite), which is one of the most popular materials presently used in this kind of application. Turbidity and gravity drainage time were measured using a Britt-Jar test with representative SMM formulations, in order to confirm the efficacy of SMM covering a wide range of compositions and discover effects of some key variables that have the potential to lead to unexpected advantages in terms of the effectiveness of the microparticles, when used in combination with a cationic polyacrylamide treatment of papermaking furnish. An iron silicate showed highest retention performance, as well as suitably fast drainage time relative to other metal silicate and bentonite. Zinc silicate improved retention and drainage. SMM synthesized from aluminum sulfate ($Al_2(SO_4){_3}$) did not show a benefit in retention and drainage, relative to bentonite. SMM synthesized from aluminum chloride ($AlCl_3$) performed better in drainage and retention than bentonite when the Al/Si ratios were 0.76 and 1.00. It was found that when the Al/Si ratio and neutralization are considered, pH variation due to the change of Al/Si ratio can be a key factor to control the size of primary metal silicate particles and the degree of coagulation of the primary particles.