Cementation involves ions carried in groundwater chemically precipitating to form new crystalline material between sedimentary grains. The new pore-filling minerals forms "bridges" between original sediment grains, thereby binding them together. In this way, sand becomes sandstone, and gravel becomes conglomerate or breccia. Cementation occurs as part of the diagenesis or lithification of sediments. Cementation occurs primarily below the water table regardless of sedimentary grain sizes present. Large volumes of pore water must pass through sediment pores for new mineral cements to crystallize and so millions of years are generally required to complete the cementation process. Common mineral cements include calcite, quartz, and silica phases like cristobalite, iron oxides, and clay minerals; other mineral cements also occur.

Sporosarcina pasteurii formerly known as Bacillus pasteurii from older taxonomies, is a gram positive bacterium with the ability to precipitate calcite and solidify sand given a calcium source and urea; through the process of microbiologically induced calcite precipitation (MICP) or biological cementation. S. pasteurii has been proposed to be used as an ecologically sound biological construction material. Researchers studied the bacteria in conjunction with plastic and hard mineral; forming a material stronger than bone. It is a commonly used for MICP since it is non-pathogenic and is able to produce high amounts of the enzyme urease which hydrolyzes urea to carbonate and ammonia.