Back in 1905, the Western Canada Cement & Coal Company built
the initial plant and also laid out the adjoining town site
consisting of about 20 buildings, including an impressive hotel and
a general store.
Sold in 1910, burned and rebuilt in 1914, the plant became
Canada Cement Lafarge Ltd. in 1970.
Four of the five raw materials required for the production of
Portland cement are found locally.
limestone: quarried since 1906 from Exshaw Mountain. (The Large
Pit in the Mountain in front of you.)
shale: quarried near Seebe, east of the site
sandstone: quarries at the base of Mt Laurie near Seebe
water: provided by nearby Exshaw Creek.
Portland cement is the most common type of cement in
general usage in many parts of the world, as it is a basic
ingredient of concrete, mortar, stucco and most non-specialty
grout.
It is a fine powder produced by grinding Portland cement clinker
(more than 90%), a maximum of about 5% gypsum which controls the
set time, and up to 5% minor constituents (as allowed by various
standards). Portland cement clinker is made by heating, in a kiln,
a homogeneous mixture of raw materials to a sintering temperature,
which is about 1450 °C for modern cements. The aluminium oxide and
iron oxide are present as a flux and contribute little to the
strength.
The major raw material for the clinker-making is usually limestone
(CaCO3). Normally, an impure limestone which contains SiO2 is used
- the CaCO3 content can be as low as 80%. Secondary raw materials
(materials in the rawmix other than limestone) depend on the purity
of the limestone. Some of the secondary raw materials used are:
clay, shale, sand, iron ore, bauxite, fly ash and slag.
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the
mineral calcite (calcium carbonate: CaCO3). Limestone often
contains variable amounts of silica in the form of chert or flint,
as well as varying amounts of clay, silt and sand as
disseminations, nodules, or layers within the rock. The primary
source of the calcite in limestone is most commonly marine
organisms. These organisms secrete shells that settle out of the
water column and are deposited on ocean floors as pelagic ooze or
alternatively is conglomerated in a coral reef (see lysocline for
information on calcite dissolution). Secondary calcite may also be
deposited by supersaturated meteoric waters (groundwater that
precipitates the material in caves). This produces speleothems such
as stalagmites and stalactites. Another form taken by calcite is
that of oolites (oolitic limestone) which can be recognized by its
granular appearance. Limestone makes up about 10% of the total
volume of all sedimentary rocks.
Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original
constituents were clays or muds. It is characterized by thin
laminae[1] breaking with an irregular curving fracture, often
splintery and usually parallel to the often-indistinguishable
bedding plane. This property is called fissility. Non-fissile rocks
of similar composition but made of particles smaller than 1/16 mm
are described as mudstones. Rocks with similar particle sizes but
with less clay and therefore grittier are siltstones.
Shale is the most common sedimentary rock.
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of
sand-size mineral or rock grains. Most sandstone is composed of
quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals
in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any color, but
the most common colors are tan, brown, yellow, red, gray and
white.
To log this cache please email the cache owner the answers to
the following questions do not post in your log.
1) What is the fifth ingredient required to make Portland
Cement?
2) Where is this ingredient imported from?
3)Estimate the current height and width of the missing piece of
Exshaw Mountain.
Please post a picture of you or your GPS in front of the quarry.
If your photo is not uploaded to your log within 21 days (or
emailed) your log will be deleted.