Limestone

Threshold Value
Suggestion- Ambuja Cements Ltd
Present Status- Threshold Value for Limestone
With respect to the reference Notification T- 45031/CGBM/2007 (PF) dated 16th October 2009

“Threshold Value of Minerals” means limit prescribed by the Indian Bureau of Mines from time
to time based on the beneficiability and or marketability of a mineral for a given region and a given
time, below which a mineral obtained after mining can be discarded as waste.

Threshold Value for Limestone fixed by IBM

Limestone Deposits Falling Under States CaO % MgO% SiO2% Alkalies %

Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, 34% (Min) 4% (Max)
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan,
Uttarakhand & Uttar Pradesh.

Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, 35% (Min) 4% (Max) 18% (Max) 0.5% (Max)
Kerala, Odisha & Tamilnadu.
Characteristic of Maratha Limestone Deposit.
• Regionally this limestone belongs to Vindhyan system of Indian Stratigraphy and termed as
Penganga beds deposited under Pranhita Godavari basin.
• Locally this deposit is known as Chanda Limestone and its characteristic is different than the
normal Vindhyan limestone deposits of India.
• Chemically precipitated sedimentary deposit marked by high structural disturbance.
• This deposit is traversed by megascopic to macroscopic folds and faults both along and across
the strike of the deposit.
• Categorized into complex to intricate deposit because of its high Geo structural condition and
variable range of quality distribution.
• Local stratigraphy comprises alternate bands of Limestone and shale beds and thickness of
limestone bands ranging from 25 to 30 meter with intercalation of shale in between limestone
beds.
• Limestone of this deposit are Massive, hard, compact, Medium to fine grained, Dark to light grey
in colour.
• Limestone is rich in sulphur and almost all sulphurs are pyritic in nature.
Limestone- Raw Mix Requirements
• For Cement manufacturing industry, Limestone is the chief raw material and contributes more
than 90% to the cement raw mix.
• Limestone requirement as per chemistry to satisfy the raw mix
Norms for Cement Grade Limestone**
% SiO2
So as to satisfy the LSF, Silica
% Al2O3
and Alumina Modulus
% Fe2O3
% CaO 44 to 52
% MgO 3.50 (max)
% LOI
% R2O (Na2O & K2O) 0.60

** As per generalized limestone classification scheme given by National Council for Cement and
Building materials (Reference: Comprehensive Appraisal of Cement grade limestone deposits of
India" NCBM, SP-15-85, July 1985)
Limestone- Raw Mix Requirements
• The limestone raw mix quality completely depends and controlled by the quality of fuel.
• The present feed grade material for our Maratha plant is CaO 43-44.50%, SiO2 12.5-13%, MgO
< 2% and SO3 < 0.60%.
• The present cut off grade of Limestone used for clinker making is 42% CaO.
Beneficiation Studies Carried Out
• Two separate beneficiation studies were carried out by NCCBM, Delhi and CSIR-IMMT,
Bhubaneswar in the year 2006 and 2009 respectively.
• The objective was to ascertain the potential for upgradation of the existing high Silica and
sulphur limestone by reducing their content through dry mineral processing techniques so that
this can be utilized with consistent ROM quality for cement manufacturing.
• Beneficiation studies carried out on Low grade Limestone having High Silica and Sulphur.
• Beneficiation studies include Dry Beneficiation studies through differential crushing and size
classification.
Outcome of Beneficiation Studies
NCCBM Study

IMMT Study

Size, mm Wt.,% SiO2, % Al2O3,% Fe2O3 ,% MgO, % CaO, % Na2O, % K2O, % SO3, % P2O5, % LOI, %

+10 68.66 10.52 1.32 0.97 0.76 46.76 0.04 0.11 0.11 0.08 38.96
-10+1 21.96 17.26 2.05 1.75 0.46 41.64 0.01 0.28 0.15 0.06 36.12
-1 9.38 31.24 4.96 3.57 0.31 29.1 0.08 0.67 0.24 0.10 28.95
Head 100 13.95 1.82 1.39 0.65 43.97 0.042 0.2 0.132 0.079 37.40

Both the studies have revealed that it is possible to enrich the CaO content by 2-3% by simple
classification beneficiation techniques.
Suggestion for Threshold Value revision
• As per beneficiation study carried out by NCCBM and IMMT it is known that only 2 to 3% CaO
enrichment can be done through dry beneficiation.
• The present cut off grade for limestone is 42% so that after blending with high and low grade, we
achieve ultimate requirement of around 44.5% CaO.
• With respect to the beneficiation study, we strongly believe that Limestone with CaO 38% can be
enriched to 40 to 41% which can be blended and used for ROM.
• Limestone below 38% CaO is difficult for required CaO enrichment and in such case recovery
will also be very low.
• Maratha limestone deposit is a high sulphur rich deposit, sulphur is higher in subgrade shaly
limestone lithologies (CaO- 34 to 42%).
• Use of this subgrade high sulphur lithology is of a great challenge and we cant use it because of
the new MoEF guidelines for Sox emission limits given with respect to Pyritic sulphur in
Limestone.
• Seeing the above issues we strongly recommend that Threshold value of limestone to be revised
from 34 to 38%