High-purity limestone assessment : from mine to market
Clive Mitchell
Industrial Minerals Specialist, British Geological Survey Email: [email protected] Website: www.mineralsuk.com
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Outline
Introduction Limestone uses Planning Exploration Evaluation High-purity limestone in Saudi Arabia Conclusions
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Introduction
High-purity limestone >97% CaCO3 (Calcium
Carbonate)
Suitability defined by industrial end-use Chemical, mineralogical & physical properties Assessment is guided by industrial requirements National Geosurvey role Mineral promotion
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Applications
Limestone has more uses than any other IM Low value, bulk volume construction material
e.g. aggregate, ballast, dimension stone
High value, lower volume speciality mineral
e.g. GCC & PCC (Ground & Precipitated Calcium Carbonate)
High-purity limestone used for lime, glass, metallurgical flux, FGD, sugar refining, mineral fillers (GCC & PCC) and calcium chemicals
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Planning
High-purity resources in low-grade uses is an issue
e.g. Carboniferous limestone in the UK used as speciality mineral and construction aggregate
Many consider this an inefficient use of resources Strategic value of high-purity resources UK Mineral Safeguarding Areas, avoid sterilisation Competing land use with other environmental designations
e.g. National Parks & AONBs
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Exploration
Exploration starts with existing geological information Calcium carbonate deposits can occur as:
Sedimentary (limestone, chalk, shell, travertine, vein & marl) Metamorphic (marble) Igneous (carbonatite) Other carbonate minerals (dolomite, siderite) Silica (quartz, chert) Clay minerals (kaolinite, illite, smectite) Mineralisation (fluorite, galena, sphalerite) Organic matter Others (pyrite, iron oxides, etc)
Mineral impurities include:
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Sampling limestone in Zambia (2000) and Afghanistan (2007)
Fieldwork & sampling
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Reconnaissance Survey
National Geosurvey explore at national/ regional scale Prioritisation of potential high-purity resources GIS of existing information Field work to collect (representative) samples Technical testing:
XRF XRD TGA Whiteness (Brightness)
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Portable XRF (used in recent limestone survey)
Laboratory Testwork
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Chemical composition
Oxide
SiO2
Wt %
<2.0
Oxide
Na2O
Wt %
<0.1
Oxide
BaO
Wt %
<0.1
TiO2
Al2O3 Fe2O3
<0.1
<0.3 <1.0
K2O
P2O5 SO3
<0.1
<0.1 <0.5
NiO
CuO ZnO
<0.1
<0.1 <0.1
Mn3O4
MgO CaO
<0.1
<3.0 >54.3
Cr2O3
SrO ZrO2
<0.1
<0.2 <0.1
PbO
LOI Total
<0.1
>42.7 100.0
Typical chemical composition of high-purity limestone; standard range of major element oxides analysed by XRF at BGS.
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Calcium Carbonate content
Limestone classification
100% limestone
Very high purity High purity Medium purity Low purity Impure
CaO
(wt%)
CaCO3
(wt %)
56.03
> 55.2 54.3 - 55.2 52.4 - 54.3 47.6 - 52.4 < 47.6
100.0
> 98.5 97.0 - 98.5 93.5 - 97.0 85.0 - 93.5 < 85.0
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Other Criteria
Purity classification
Very high purity High purity Medium purity Low purity Impure
MgO
(wt%) < 0.8 < 1.0 < 3.0 > 3.0
SiO2
(wt%) < 0.2 < 0.6 < 1.0 < 2.0 > 2.0
Fe2O3
(wt%) < 0.05 < 0.1 < 1.0 > 1.0
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Mineral Promotion
Resource maps and reports Web pages/ downloads: www.mineralsuk.com Workshops and seminars
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Saudi High-purity Limestone
Deposit
Al Kharj: Umm al Ghirban (Aruma Fm) Al Kharj (Tuwaiq Mountain Limestone) Al Kharj (Salaiy Fm) Riyadh area: Khasm Mazali (Sulaiy Fm) Riyadh area: Sudus (Tuwaiq Fm) Wadi at Tarbah area: Umm Waal Ad Dammam area (Middle Eocene) Red Sea Coast Wadi Misser (Shayban Fm) Red Sea Coast Wadi Minsah (Proterozoic)
CaO
Wt% 54.13 55.0 54.42 53.4-55.6 54.87 > 55 51.8 49.6 55
MgO
Wt% 0.26 0.38 0.35 0.2 0.07 n/a 1.17 3.23 0.6
SiO2
Wt% 0.52 0.94 0.7
Fe2O3 Purity
Wt% 0.09 0.27 0.06 High Medium to high High
0.1-0.56 0.08-0.13 High to very high 1.18 <5 1.5 1.4 0.7 0.1 n/a 0.25 n/a 0.4 Medium to high Medium to high Low Low Medium to high
Red Sea Coast Ras Marjah (Quaternary)
47.15
2.2
1.7
n/a
Low
Limestone data from: Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (1994) Limestone and dolomite. Chapter 24 in Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia, Directorate General of Mineral Resources, Special Publication SP-2, p.162-172.
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Saudi High-purity Limestone
Purity by lime, magnesia, silica & Iron oxide contents Several are not high-calcium limestones
(require 97% CaCO3, equivalent to 54.3% CaO)
Only one limestone considered very high-purity Khasm Mazali, Riyadh area
(Lower Cretaceous, Sulaiy Formation)
Micritic (very fine grained), homogeneous, cohesive limestone with enormous potential resources
(Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (1994) Limestone and dolomite. Chapter 24 in Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia, Directorate General of Mineral Resources, Special Publication SP-2, p.162-172)
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Conclusions
Limestone resources are often widespread National Geosurveys work at reconnaissance scale Technical assessment needs market information Ongoing challenge to maintain knowledge base Laboratory capabilities a key component Outputs largely via the web (www.mineralsuk.com)
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Thank you for your attention
Clive Mitchell
Industrial Minerals Specialist British Geological Survey Keyworth, Nottingham, UK NG12 5GG
Tel. Email: Web:
+44 (0)115 936 3257 [email protected] www.mineralsuk.com
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