In geology, cementation is the process of deposition of dissolved mineral components in the interstices of sediments. It is an important factor in the consolidation of coarse-grained clastic sedimentary rocks such as sandstones, conglomerates, or breccias during diagenesis or lithification. Cementing materials may include silica, carbonates, iron oxides, or clay minerals.
Cementation is also continually going on in the ground water zone, so much so that the term "zone of cementation" is sometimes used interchangeably. Cementation occurs in fissures or other openings of existing rocks and is a dynamic process more or less in equilibrium with a dissolution or dissolving process.
In metallurgy, cementation is the process by which one substance is caused to penetrate and change the character of another by the action of heat below the melting points of the substances. See: carburizing, nitriding , calorizing , sherardizing , chromizing , and siliconizing .
See also: cement