It is estimated that about 5% of the Earth’s crust is some form of calcium carbonate, either as calcite, limestone, chalk, marble or aragonite or through impure forms like dolomite. While some minor portion of naturally occurring calcium carbonates have formed due to geological processes, the majority has its origins from animal life.
Calcium carbonate is the main constituent of shells of marine animals and exoskeletons of myriad creatures, which gradually accumulated on the sea floor over many eons and later transformed by inexorable geological processes to form the mighty Himalayas, the iconic white cliffs of Dover and many other calcium carbonate deposits worldwide1. Calcium carbonate is one of the most useful minerals and has been used by mankind for 40,000 years for a wide range of applications. Mining & productionThe vast majority of calcium carbonate used in industry is extracted by mining or quarrying. Pure calcium carbonate...