The effect of liquid additive on the dry ultrafine grinding of calcite powder (CaCO3) was investigated by using a stirred bead mill. The experiments were carried out by a batch operation, and the change in particle size distribution (PSD) and volumetric surface area (S-v) (m(2)/cm(3)) of calcite. The results show that the chemical additive promotes the fine grinding of calcite and that the maximum volumetric surface area of calcite obtained with additives 0.2%. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.