Ivory Coast: Dolomite in local cement
In Côte d'Ivoire, the government wants to integrate a new ore in the manufacture of cement which would reduce its cost.
© Lucien KAHOZI / AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
In Côte d'Ivoire, the authorities have just modified cement manufacturing standards to include dolomite, a resource that would reduce the cost of cement manufacturing.
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With our correspondent in Abidjan,
Bineta Diagne
The inflation of imported products, linked to the Covid-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine, has had a virtue: to encourage people to think about how to better exploit local resources, such as cement, in Côte d' Ivory.
From now on, the cement manufacturing standard will incorporate a new mineral: dolomite.
It is a crystalline mineral, occurring in the form of white marble.
It is a question of gradually replacing the use of limestone in the composition of cement which is made by raising the temperature (up to 1,450°) of a finely ground mixture of limestone, clay and
sand
.
Indeed, "
the price of limestone, imported from Asia and Europe, has become very expensive
", notes Amadou Coulibaly, government spokesman, hence the idea of finding a more accessible substitute.
Dolomite, available in Ghana and Togo, would thus allow "
a 5 to 10
% drop in the price of cement
", continues this manager.
The reflection is therefore officially launched with, in particular, research permits which have been granted.
At this stage, Côte d'Ivoire does not have a "proven" deposit of dolomite, but the scientists rely on "
indications
" of sites where this ore could well be present, namely the south of the country, towards Adiaké and Sassandra.
“
We have to go to the field, take samples and drill
to confirm this lead ,
”
says a specialist from the Ministry of Mines who sees it as an opportunity to develop local cement.
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