Laterite

Zai Trade International is supplying Laterite to Cement Industry in Pakistan. Laterite is a soil and rock type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas.

Laterites are the products of intensive and long lasting tropical rock weathering which is intensified by high rainfall and elevated temperatures. Formation of most of the laterites started in the Tertiary. For a proper understanding of laterite formation we must focus on the chemical reactions between the rocks exposed at the surface and the infiltrated rain water. These reactions are above all controlled by the mineral composition of the rocks and their physical properties (cleavage, porosity) which favour the access of water. The second relevant factor for the formation of laterites are the properties of the reacting water (dissolved constituents, temperature, acidity pH, redox potential Eh) which are themselves controlled by the climate, vegetation and the morphology of the landscape.
Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by intensive and prolonged weathering of the underlying parent rock.

Zai Trade International supplies laterite with following specifications: