DUNITE is a plutonic rock of ultramafic composition and is mainly characterized by coarse grained texture. It’s chemical classification is basic rock, having olivine as the principal mineral, with minor contents of Pyroxene and Chromite.
Dunite in Grecian Magnesite’s Yerakini mines, is co-produced from the beneficiation process of magnesite (MgCO3) and finds use in the following main applications:
- as an aggregate in road / highway construction
- as a refractory raw material
- to sequester CO2 and help mitigate global climate.
Road / highway construction:
The lower quality of Grecian Magnesite’s co-produced Dunite is sold locally as a base layer aggregate for road / highway construction. Grecian Magnesite operates a crushing and screening unit with an annual production of around 300.000t.
Refractory raw material:
The weathering and alteration to Serpentine is low at the deeper parts of the excavation, therefore the olivine content can reach the level of >70% with low L.O.I in the range of 3.0 - 5.0%. This material is either used in-house as a raw material for the production of basic monolithic refractories or sold selectively to other refractory producers around the world.