What is Gypsum?

Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO₄·2H₂O. It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywall.

What is gypsum is used for?

Gypsum is widely used to manufacture wallboards that are used to cover walls and ceilings. It’s also used to make plaster which is used in the construction of homes as well as mixed into a patching compound for wallboard repair.

What is gypsum is used for?

Is gypsum a rock or mineral?

Gypsum is a soft, light-colored sedimentary rock deposited in ancient seas that covered Ohio during the Silurian Period. It occurs in both mineral form (selenite) and as a rock in bedded layers.

What is special about gypsum?

Gypsum is found in a number of forms and is of great economic importance. It is colorless or white but can be tinted light brown, gray, yellow, green, or orange due to the presence of impurities. Single, well-developed crystals can be blocky with a slanted parallelogram outline, tabular, or bladed.

Why is gypsum used in cement?

Gypsum is called the retarding agent of cement which is mainly used for regulating the setting time of cement and is an indispensable component. Without gypsum, cement clinker can condense immediately by mixing with water and release heat

Where gypsum is found?

Gypsum can be found as thick layers in shale and as attractive crystals. No gypsum deposits are 100% pure. It is usually found with deposits of a combination of the following: limestone, sand, shale, anhydrite and sometimes rock salt.

Where to buy gypsum in Namibia?  

It is available at Namibia Gypsum Industries and at Build it Crown.