Kankar

Kankar is extensively used for producing hydraulic lime. The nodules should have a blue grey fracture, free of any sand grains or mud sticking to them, and broken to pass a 12 mm gauge before being calcined.

Kankar is a nodular variety of limestone which is of spongy nature, found in almost all parts of India containing some quantity of clayey and silicious matter. It is found either in layers or blocks, or in separate nodules. The block form occurs as solid deposits at various depths, and the nodular variety is generally found scattered on the surface or in small thicknesses about a metre or so below the surface in the low lying portions of the catchments of nallas and rivulets. The nodules are of sizes varying from 10 mm to 100 mm. Nodular kankar is superior to block kankar but is not available in large quantities. Shining or glittering particles in a fresh fracture indicate presence of sand. The proportions of clay and sand can be determined by dissolving the sample in powdered. form in dilute hydrochloric acid and determining the residue left. “Bichwa” kankar as known in the Punjab and U.P. in India is considered to be the best.