Prospection of Portland cement raw material: A case study in the Marmara region of Turkey

Representative sampling of the raw materials used to make Portland cement, correct calculations for the possible clinker mixtures, sufficient reserves of the raw materials and selection of the correct infrastructure for the location of a cement factory are essential to the protection of the great investment in the factory. The results of chemical analyses of pipe samples taken in the field at right angles to the strikes of favourable limestone, clay, shale, and marl outcrops were used in Kind's lime saturation formula for clinker calculations of the possible mixtures. The cement modulus values were calculated using the corresponding clinker oxide ratios and were confirmed to be within the standard intervals for positive cement raw material mixtures. The most promising raw material source, a double lithologic mixture of limestone and mudstone was found during the prospection in north of Bilecik Province, where rhyolitic tuff outcrops with pozzolanic properties also exist. Some marble quarries nearby have been inclined to dispose of their marble wastes for use in cement production to prevent polluting the environment with them. The nearby Gemlik fertiliser factory provides inexpensive waste gypsum that can be used as a cool cement mixing material. The limestone, mudstone and trass raw material reserves in this area were calculated to be sufficient for the factory's requirements for more than 100years of operation as results of the detailed geological mapping. The regional infrastructure is most suitable for distribution and marketing of cement products. The cement factory described in this study has been producing cement for the last 3years, after coring and testing of the raw material reserves.