Limestone & dolomite

Harris, P.M.

Limestone & dolomite

Harris, P.M.. 1982 Limestone & dolomite. London, UK, HMSO, 120pp. (Mineral Dossier No. 23)

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Abstract/Summary

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of calcium carbonate while dolomite is composed mainly of calcium magnesium carbonate. Limestones are fairly widespread in the United Kingdom, except in Scotland, but exploitation is concentrated on Carboniferous limestones which occur mainly in Derbyshire, The Mendips, Gloucestershire, North Yorkshire, Cumbria, North Wales, South Wales and Northern Ireland. The Permian limestone, which outcrops between Newcastle and Nottingham, is also of importance and Cretaceous limestone (chalk) is used extensively in cement making. Total production from all other limestones accounts for only 10 per cent of United Kingdom output. Dolomite is produced mainly from the Permian and from the Carboniferous in South Wales, Gloucestershire and Shropshire. Limestone is used in the construction industry principally as an aggregate and in the manufacture of cement. It is also used, either as the carbonate or as lime (CaO) , in agriculture, in the steel, glass and chemical industries, in water treatment, building materials and in a wide range of industrial powders. Dolomite is used as an aggregate, in agriculture, in the manufacture of refractories, as a flux and in glass making. Both limestone and dolomite are used as building stone. In 1979 16.3 million tonnes of chalk and 92.2 million tonnes of limestone, including 2.9 million tonnes of dolomite used for non-aggregate purposes, were produced in the United Kingdom. Limestone is the preferred source of roadstone, 35 million tonnes being used in 1979; it is the main raw material for the cement industry, which consumed 10.5 million tonnes of limestone and 13.3 million tonnes of chalk in 1979; it is basic to agriculture, which used 2.6 million tonnes of limestone and chalk in 1979 together with some dolomite; it is also a fundamental raw material in many industrial processes, which together consumed 10 million tonnes of limestone and chalk in 1979. Hence limestone and dolomite provide basic, high volume, cheap raw materials for which, in most cases, there are no practical substitutes. Limestone and dolomite is usually exploited in large open quarries of up to 5 million tonnes annual capacity, which are difficult to locate unobtrusively in the attractive countryside often associated with limestone outcrops. Hence environmental factors are a major constraint on the industry.

Item Type:

Publication - Report

Programmes:

BGS Programmes > Economic Minerals

Funders/Sponsors:

Institute of Geological Sciences

Additional Keywords:

Mineral, Limestone, Dolomite

NORA Subject Terms:

Earth Sciences

Date made live:

12 Aug 2025 09:39 +0 (UTC)