From quarry rock to shipped cement — the full line
LIVE · PROCESS FLOWS QUARRY → SHIPPING
From limestone quarry to shipped cement — end to end
Where limestone becomes cement — extraction to dispatch
Limestone ——→ Cement
1
Quarrying
Excavators extract limestone from the quarry — the main raw material.
2
Hauling
Dump trucks transport limestone rock from the quarry to the plant.
3
Crushing
Primary then secondary crushers reduce rock to fine-ground limestone.
4
Raw Mix Blending
Clay and sand are proportioned and mixed with the crushed limestone.
5
Preheating
The raw meal climbs the preheater tower and is heated before the kiln.
6
Kiln Burning
In the rotary kiln the mix is fired to ~1450°C, forming clinker.
7
Clinker Cooling
The clinker cooler chills the nodules; recovered heat is recycled.
8
Finish Grinding
Cooled clinker is proportioned with gypsum and ground in the finish mill.
9
Cement Storage
The finished cement powder is held in storage silos.
10
Shipping
Cement is loaded out — in bulk or bags — and shipped to customers.
Limestone is quarried, crushed & blended with clay and sand, preheated and burned to clinker, cooled, then ground with gypsum and shipped as finished cement.
Key facts — cement manufacturing
Kiln Temperature
1,450°C
The temperature at which limestone chemically fuses into clinker.
CO₂ Footprint
~0.9 t
Tonnes of CO₂ emitted per tonne of cement produced — primarily from clinker formation.
Gypsum Added
3–5%
Added during finish grinding to control the setting time of concrete.
Raw Material Mix
80% Limestone
Remaining 20% is clay, sand, and iron ore — adjusted by quarry chemistry.
Grinding Fineness
300–400 m²/kg
Blaine surface area of finished cement powder — finer = faster strength gain.
Global Production
4.4 Bn t/yr
Cement is the second-most consumed material on earth after water.
