Salt Lake City-based ISG Resources, Inc. recently announced the acquisition of a South Carolina grinding and packaging facility where rotary kiln-generated metakaolin, produced by CE Minerals, will be processed and packaged for distribution throughout the United States.

ISG also will market pre-ground metakaolin in specialty markets. ISG metakaolin will bear the name CEMax, meet the requirements of American Society for Testing and Materials(ASTM) C-618 Type N, and replace microsilica as a high-performance pozzolan.

In tests performed with conventional concrete, CEMax accelerated the strength development time of a cement/fly-ash mix to be equivalent within seven days in pound-for-pound cement replacement mixes, according to ISG Resources. In addition, CEMax is said to have exceeded the straight cement strength results at every later age.

During a segment of the Feb. 11, 1997 World News Tonight with Peter Jennings aired on ABC, the New York State Highway Department described its results with high performance concrete. Utilizing a mixture containing 74% portland cement, 24% fly ash, and 6% high-performance pozzolan, the highway department produced concrete with three times less water penetration and 20 times fewer shrinkage cracks, in mixtures that were 20% stronger than straight portland cement concrete. The department specified high-performance concrete as a way to extend service life from the typical 20 years to an anticipated 100 years.

High-performance concrete and ternary mixtures are not new to the ready mixed concrete industry, as similar type mixes have been specified to withstand severe exposure environments for more than 20 years. The limitation to further commercialization has been due primarily to initial cost and placement. The typical microsilica products add cost not only to the concrete prices but also to placement. Additionally, microsilica is darker in color and may effect the aesthetics of the concrete.