DOLOMITE

Specifications for use in various Industries

Dolomite is a double carbonate of calcium and magnesium (CaC03, MgC03). It is one of the
important raw material used in iron & steel, ferroallos, glass, allo steels, fertili!er industr etc.
Dolomite chips are also used in flooring tiles.
". #he present status of specifications of dolomite for different end use industries and the li$el
future trends. #he specifications of dolomite re%uired for different industries are gi&en below'
(") Iron and (teel Industr' Dolomite is used in iron and steel industr as refractor raw material
and as a flu). #he I(I (Is "03*+&",-.) has prescribed the following specifications of dolomite
for use in the manufacture of refractor bric$s, fettling material and for the blast furnace and
sintering plants.
#he data pertaining to specifications of /0, (M( and refactor grade dolomite in respect of each
steel plant in the countr is gi&en in table 1o. "2#he data has been supplied largel b (ail &
#isco.
Table 1 Specifications of Dolomite Consumed In Different Steel Plants
3ccording to the report mentioned abo&e, the consumer steel plants ha&e b and large agreed to
the limitations specified b the (ub4Committee. #I(C5, howe&er, wanted much more strigencies
in the le&el of acid insoluble. 3ccording to #I(C5, the acid insoluble for 6rade4I dolomite
should not e)ceed "..7 instead of ..87, as stipulated b the (ub4Committee. Dolomite used for
fettling purposes b (3I9 sometimes contains upto 87 acid insoluble. :se of dolomite
containing higher insoluble than those specified abo&e results in lower life of the refractor bric$s
and hinders the production of steel due to higher number of shut downs.
#he tpe of dolomite used in blast furance, sinter, and pellet plants is of same %ualit but it is of
inferior grade as compared to that used in steel melting shop. #he I(I stipulates that dolomite for
use in /0 ;(< should contain Mg5 "-7 (min), Ca5 .-7 (min) and acid insolubles -7 (ma)),
whereas steel plants in practice, consume dolomite with Mg5 "- to ",.87, Ca5 ., to 307 and
acid insolubles + to "07. #he steel melting shop re%uires superior %ualit dolomite for flu)ing
purposes. #he total insolubles should be below *7. #he sillca content should be as low as
possible but in no case abo&e ..87. #he steel plants howe&er, use dolomite with acid insolubles
upto + and in the case of #I(C5 it is as high as -.=7.
2. erro!Man"anese#
#he specifications of dolomite for use in ferromanganese are more or less similar to (M( grade
dolomite. <hsicall dolomite should be hard and fine grained because crstalline dolomite gi&es
fritting effect in the furnace. 0erro allo industr actuall consumes dolomite with Mg5 ", to
.07, Ca5 .- to 307 (i0. . to 87, and 3l.03 . to ..87.
$.%lass#
>igh grade dolomite with as low iron content as possible is re%uired b the glass industr. 6lass
grade dolomite is tpified b its purit and consistenc. #he Mg5 and Ca5 content should not
&er b more than 0.87. #he chief undesirable impurities are iron followed b chromum,
manganese, &anadium, lead, all of which co lour the glass or the ma cause defects in the glass.
0or certain commercial colourless glass, the 0e.53 content up to 0..87 is permisable, but for
truel colourless glass, 0e.53 content of 0.0*7 (ma)) is sometimes specified.
#he I(I (I( ',,=4",3=) has prescribed specifications for limestone and dolomite for glass industr
as gi&en below'
Characteristies ?e%uirement on dr
basis in
". (ilica (as (i0.) ..8 (ma))
.. #otal Iron (as 0e .0)
(a) Calcite or marble 0.08 (ma))
(b) 9imestone 0."0 (ma))
(c) Dolomitic limestone and 0."8 (ma))
dolomite.
3. 9ime (as Ca5) 83.00 (min)
*. #otal lime and magnesia 8*.80 (min)
In case of dolomitic limestone or dolomite, re%uirement of lime and Ca5 ma be fi)ed b mutual
agreement between purchaser and the supplier.
@hen the material is supplied in powder form, the grain si!e distribution of the material shall be
between the following limits'
(a) Material retained on ..00 mm sie&e 4 1il.
(b) Material passing ".8 micron I( sie&e 4 .87
&. ertili'er Industr(# Dolomite for use in fertili!er industr must ha&e CaC53 AMgC53 ,07
(min) and (i0. 87 (ma)).
Inferior grade dolomitic limestone of "84.07 Mg5 can be used as soil conditioner. 6round
dolomite, 807 of which must be "00 /( mesh si!e be considered suitable as a soil conditioner if
it is applied at the rate fo .43 ton per acre.
#he I(I (rs ' 8*0= 4 <art .4",-8) has prescribed the specifications of limestone and dolomite to
be used as soil amendments. 3ccording to this specification, ,07, b mass of the material
should pass through . mm ("0 mesh) sie&e and 807 b mass of material to pass through .08
micron (+0 mesh) sie&e. #he neutrali!ing &alue (e)press as CaC03) percent b mass shall not be
leas than =07. #he total lime and magnesia (as Ca5 A Mg5) shall not be less than 807 b mass
and the material shall not contain more than 87 moisture b mass.
). Lime' #he dolomite for the manufacture of lime should contain Caco3 8-4=87, MgC53 .-4
*-7 and other constituents should be less than 37. .
*. Ma"nesium Metal# Calcined dolomite of .00 mesh si!e is used in the e)traction of
magnesium metal. 0or this purpose calcined dolomite must contain Mg5 *0.87, Ca5 8-."07,
0e.53 A ".53 0.-8 and insolubles 0.+7.
*. iller+E,tender# 0or this purpose, dolomite must be &er pure and in particular be free from
colouring impurities such as o)ides of iron, chromium, manganese etc.
-. Coal Minin" Industr(' Dolomite for this purpose must be finel powdered to a carefull
controlled grading with at least 807 passing .00 mesh sie&e. (ilica content should not e)ceed 87
as to minimi!e an ris$ of silicosis through inhalation b miners.
.. Sea ! /ater ! Ma"nesia# #he essential re%uirements of dolomite raw material for this purpose
are that impurities li$e iron o)ide and alumina in particular are $ept to a minimum.
20 T1e present status of Classification of reserves accordin" to its industrial application
2Item ii of t1e terms of reference#
In the Mineral In&entor as on 0".0".",-0, and 0".0".",-8 the reser&es ha&e been classified
into /0, (M(, /0 & (M( mi)ed, ?efractor, /.0., (M(, ?efractor mi)ed. >owe&er, in
most cases the basis of classification is not $nown. It is probable that onl chemical analsis
dam @ere ta$en into consideration.
$0 3ecommendations for Standardisation of4ades for different end use application for
purpose of reserves estimation 5 6eepin" in vie7 broad limitations of t1e e,ploration
a"encies
2Item 8o. iii of t1e terms of reference0
#he B)pert 6roup e)amined the specifications prescribed for &arious industries and also
dismissed the scale of consumption. in these industries are also the limitations of the
e)ploration, agencies in delineating the grades. /ased on these, the 6roup recommends the
following end use grades for the purpose of classification of reser&es. s
a) ?efractor '
i) I.D. grade'
Mg5 .. ."0;0 (min)
(i0. 4 "7 (ma))
3l.03 4 "7 (ma))
0e.03 4 "0;0 (ma))
<hsical 4 0ine grained &non4decrepitating on calcination
ii) (M( & 0attling grade'
Mg5 4 .07 (mm)
(i0. 4 *7 (ma))
4 #otal insoluble +7 (ma))
<hsical 4 >omogenous fine grained & non4decrepitating on calcination
ill) /.0. & (intering grade'
Mg5 4 ",7 (mm)
3cidinsoluble 4 ".7 (ma))
i&) 6lass'
Ca5 A MgC 4 800;0 (mm)
0e.03 4 0."87 (ma))
(i0. 4 ..87 (ma))
tksbaV oaspj dfeVh dh f}rh; cSBd
jktLFkku esa xgjkbZ es cslesVy [kfutks dh [kkst ds fy;s 'kklu }
kjk xfBr tksbaV osapj dfefV ts- oh- lh- dh feVhax f!ukd "#
flr$cj% "&&' dks jke()jk*+x)pk esa ,kkjrh; o-.kfud losZ/k0k
fo,kkx1 (f'peh /ks23% t;()j ds 4( egkfu!s'kd 5h +kj-1l- xks;y
dh +6;/krk esa la(7u g)bZ8 .kr jgs ts-oh-lh- dh lajpuk 5h
uoj9u (hryhk% +6kh/k0k ,k: o-.kfud e)- dh (gy (j dh xbZ
Fkh8 bl fefVax esa fg7!)Lrku ftad fyfeVs; ds 5h yfyr x)tZj%
[kfut +7os<k0k fo,kkx ds 5h +kj-1-x)=rk% l)[kkf;;k fo'ofo>ky; ds
lsok fuo?r (@ksAslj 5h ds-lh- .kuh [kku 1oa ,k: fo.ku fohkkx
ds 5h uoj9u ey f(rfy;k 1oa 5h +k-1l- flaBkoh rFkk (sV@ksfy;e
fo,kkx ds 5h 1-ds-o-'; us ,kkx fy;k8 fefVax esa fof,k77k
fo,kkxks }kjk (@!s'k esa cl esVy dh [kkst gsr) fd;s x;s dk;Z
dh lfe/kk dj !ks csl esVy ds CykDd% 1d ys;*ftad rFkk !:ljk
rk$cs ds fy;s% tksbaV oaspj (@ksL(sfEaVx gsr) fpf7gr fd;s x;s8
blesa 1d dk;j*+x:pk*tkoj CykDd o !:ljk
xkaxkkl*+kdksyk*,kh0;j CykDd g-8 lkFk gh bl ckr (j ,kh
tksj f!;k x;k fd F;k!krj /ks3ks esa de xgjkbZ rd gh fG!@0k
dk;Z g)+k g-% blfy;s xgjkbZ (j fG!@0k dj [kfut dh 4(yC6krk
tkapus gsr) ts-oh-lh- CykDd cukdj (@ksL(sfEVax djkos8