Industrial purchasing
Bulk calcium carbonate supplier.
One natural deposit, four graded products, and a grade routed to the process rather than to a category name.
Which calcium carbonate
Three materials share the name. They are not interchangeable.
A buyer searching for calcium carbonate meets three distinct products. Knowing which one a quote is for is the first step in comparing quotes at all.
Ground calcium carbonate (GCC)
Natural carbonate rock, quarried and milled to a target distribution. Most GCC is calcitic limestone; chemistry and fineness vary by deposit and by product.
Precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC)
Manufactured rather than mined, with a process-designed particle profile. A different material with a different cost base and its own CAS number.
Natural oolitic aragonite
What AragoCor supplies: a marine-origin carbonate collected from the Great Bahama Bank, mechanically dried, screened and sized, with no calcination step. CAS 1317-65-3.
Why the distinction bites
Crystal form, particle morphology, purity control and origin all differ across the three. Compare the delivered specification, not the category name on the quote.
Match the grade to the process
The application decides the sizing; the chemistry stays the same.
Every grade comes from the same deposit and shares the same documented chemistry — 96.17% CaCO3 with 38.51% elemental calcium. What separates them is the particle distribution the receiving process reacts to.
| Application | Grade | Particle size | What the process reacts to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture and growing media | AG-CAL | 0.2–0.5 mm | Reaction timing, spreader and blender fit, dust |
| Glass batch | GL-CAL | Below 0.1 mm | Trace-metal profile, batch mixing, decomposition in the melt |
| Water treatment | WT-CAL | 1–3 mm | Dissolution rate, head loss and backwash behavior |
| Polymers and coatings | PL-CAL | Sized to spec | D-values, top size, dispersion and surface finish |
| Application-specific programs | Custom blend | Mesh 20 to 325 | Whatever distribution the written specification defines |
The purchasing checklist
What turns a specification into a comparable quote.
Industrial carbonate quotes are hard to compare because they are quoted on different bases. These are the items that put two of them on the same footing.
- Specification basis — the chemistry, sieve distribution and moisture the process runs to — written down, not implied by a grade name.
- Incumbent equivalence — the material being replaced and the properties equivalence will be judged on, so a substitution can actually be tested.
- Acceptance criteria — the test methods and limits used on receipt, since a value without a method is not an acceptance criterion.
- Volume and cadence — tonnage per shipment and across the year, which is what a supply program is priced against.
- Destination — the plant, port or delivery point — freight is quoted to a place, not to a region.
- Documentation — the analytical, safety and listing documents procurement and quality need on file before first receipt.
How the sources differ
Origin, form and control.
| Decision factor | Oolitic aragonite | Calcitic GCC | Precipitated CaCO3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Origin | Natural marine deposit, collected | Quarried limestone, milled | Manufactured |
| Crystal form | Orthorhombic aragonite | Trigonal calcite | Process-determined |
| Density (g/cm3) | 2.93 | 2.71 | Grade- and process-dependent |
| Particle morphology | Rounded, oolitic grains | Angular, milled particles | Process-designed |
| Purity basis | 96.17% CaCO3, single deposit | Product- and quarry-dependent | Process- and grade-dependent |
| Processing | No calcination step | Deposit- and process-dependent | Chemically produced |
From enquiry to supply
Specify, sample, then contract.
Specify
Send the written specification or the incumbent material, the sizing requirement, the tonnage and the destination.
Sample
Run a representative sample through the receiving process and confirm it against your own acceptance criteria.
Supply
Set the grade, documentation set and supply cadence for the program once the sample result is in.
Questions
Frequently asked questions.
What is the difference between GCC and PCC?
Ground calcium carbonate is mined and milled from natural carbonate rock; precipitated calcium carbonate is manufactured, with a process-designed particle profile. They are different materials with different cost bases and different CAS numbers. AragoCor supplies a natural material — oolitic aragonite, CAS 1317-65-3.
What grades are supplied in bulk?
AG-CAL at 0.2–0.5 mm for agriculture and growing media, GL-CAL below 0.1 mm for glass batches, WT-CAL at 1–3 mm for water-treatment media, and PL-CAL sized to specification for polymers and coatings. Blends are produced across mesh 20 to 325.
What purity should I expect?
Composition is 96.17% CaCO3 with 38.51% elemental calcium, representative analysis by ASTM C 25 from Bowser-Morner report 124914A. It is representative analysis rather than a guaranteed minimum, and grade documentation carries the values that apply to the supplied product.
Can you match an incumbent specification?
Send the specification or the incumbent product data with the sizing requirement, and a grade is matched against it. Equivalence for your process is established by running a representative sample against your own acceptance criteria, not by comparing two data sheets.
What is the CAS number?
1317-65-3, the naturally occurring mineral. It is not 471-34-1, which is precipitated calcium carbonate and a different material.
How is a bulk quote produced?
From the grade or written specification, the particle-size requirement, the tonnage per shipment and across the year, and the destination. Those four inputs are what the supply program is priced against.
Keep reading
Where to go next.
Request bulk calcium carbonate pricing.
Send the specification or incumbent material, the sizing requirement, the tonnage and the destination, and AragoCor will route a grade and quote the supply program.