Arthur M. Harrisson Ltd

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The raw materials for cement manufacture form the foundation for the whole of the concrete construction industry.  


I have direct experience of examination and assessment of raw materials in the ground before costly quarrying  operations are begun.  
Before the geologist even visits the site there is a need to examine any maps, borehole logs, borehole sample records and chemical analyses to determine whether the project is viable in purely geochemical terms.  I can offer an assessment of data available  to provide a first indication as to the suitability of the proposed quarry materials for cement clinker.

Cement kiln feed requires lime, silica, aluminium oxide and iron oxide.  Conventionally the lime is won from limestone (including chalk), the silica and aluminium oxide from clay minerals and the iron oxide from clay with additions of iron rich waste from various industrial processes.  Alternative secondary materials are  increasingly being used to minimise the environmental impact of cement manufacture.  These include fly ash from coal fired power stations, blastfurnace slag and other slags from metals processing, foundry sands and other wastes from materials based industries.

Each raw material needs to be investigated as a potential source on its own and also in the context of the other materials to be used in the process.



A Harrisson 2011