In the beginning …

… there was a great ocean, and microorganisms, and limitless time, and money didn’t matter. Today, we have exploitable limestone deposits, very little time, and cost-efficiency plays the dominant role – but we do have mankind’s inventive genius!

The obtainment of raw materials for cement nowadays means diversified planning and preparatory work, from the first cut to the final shovel load.

The mineral feed materials firstly have to be sampled, analyzed and excavated. Then they must be crushed and homogenized, and the results quality-checked again. Highly trained engineers supporting the process from start to finish evolve refined technological solutions that assure a profitable process with the minimum possible ecological footprint until the site is finally returned to Mother Nature.

This issue contains information on quarrying machinery and its maintenance, strategies for improvement of the quality of natural limestone deposits, and the mechanical potentials of blending-bed operation. At the end of the chain, sophisticated quality-assurance procedures are applied during the preparation process to guarantee precise quality targets.

A discussion of engineering methodology, the latest research results in fiber-reinforced concrete, and an insight into the dry mortar market complete this issue’s picture.

We wish all our readers an interesting increase of knowledge!

Dr. Hubert Baier
Editor-in-Chief
ZKG INTERNATIONAL