Beginner's Guide to Quarry Mining

The Earth is an amazing source of natural resources, including minerals, sand, and rock, which are extracted through a process called quarrying.

Quarries, where mining takes place, are a type of mine that differs from underground coal mines, as they use an open-pit mine structure.

What does quarry mining mean?

A quarry is basically a large, man-made pit from which rock and minerals are extracted.

When a valuable, useful rock or mineral is found in sufficient quantity near the Earth's surface, a quarry can be constructed to extract it.

Other related terms for quarry mining are strip mining and open pit mining.

Typically, high-quality, durable building materials are extracted from stone quarries.

For centuries, ancient civilizations used quarries to construct impressive constructions of famous wonders of the world using natural stones such as limestone, granite, sandstone, and marble.

Here's a beginner's guide to quarry mining activities, from basic terms and processes to quarrying progress and environmental impacts.

Origins of Quarrying Methods

The Giza Pyramids

Quarries have been built for thousands of years, with the purpose of supporting the development of growing societies.

Early quarries relied on manual labour, using hand-held mining tools such as pickaxes, chisels and hammers made of various metals or stones.

Historically, many cultures have used stone quarries to build important structures, monuments and artworks, often requiring large pieces of stone quarried from sandstone, limestone or marble over long distances.

Originally, heavy stones were moved long distances using a great deal of manpower, using a combination of slave labour and basic mechanical systems, with large pieces being pulled using pulleys, wooden rails and ropes.

What is the difference between a mine and a quarry?

Basically, a mine can be a surface open pit or an underground hole or tunnel system dug to extract ore from the earth, while a quarry is an open pit on the surface of the earth from which mostly stone is extracted.

How is quarry mining done?

Quarry Mining

Nowadays, quarries use industrial-grade mining equipment for blasting, drilling and hauling material.

Diamond-tipped drilling equipment, powerful explosives and heavy-duty mining trucks all play a part in modern stone quarry mining.

Mine sites are now being mapped with impressive accuracy using satellites and drones.

The most common means of modern quarrying are digging, heating, wedging and blasting.

Blasting involves several steps using drilling equipment and explosives to remove hard rock.

Today the quarrying industry supports countless businesses and operations in many countries, and methods for loosening and separating rocks and minerals from their natural location are constantly updated.

What do you extract at a quarry?

The stones commonly extracted at quarries have many purposes, and different terms are used to describe certain types.

Aggregates and dimension stone are among the most common quarried materials.

What are aggregate stones?

Aggregates include quarried crushed stone, gravel, and sand.

These materials are often used in the foundations of roads and railroad tracks.

Aggregates are mined to make essential building materials such as asphalt and concrete, so facilities such as ready-mix concrete plants are often built nearby.

What are dimension stones?

Dimension stone

In quarrying, dimension stone is a large, precisely cut piece of quarried stone.

These slabs are polished and finished, then used to build and decorate buildings.

Dimension stones can be used in home construction and interior decoration for tiles, counter tops, ceiling siding, etc., and are often considered a quality luxury item.

Headstones to mark graves are another example of how dimension stone can be used.

Quarries and the Environment

Several environmental factors must be considered when discussing quarries and quarry mining.

Any extraction of rock, minerals, or other materials will alter the environment by displacing and removing said materials, thereby destroying the natural habitat.

After these are used, there may be little material remaining on the site for restoration of biological life after mining.

Abandoned quarries are used as landfills. They are also sometimes used as film production locations.

Quarry lakes

Quarry lakes

Artificial lakes are often created in the basins of abandoned mines.

Depending on their cleanliness, they may or may not be conducive to safe recreation and wildlife.

Quarry lakes are particularly cold and deep and present special hazards, such as dangerous equipment, quarry rocks, and endangered wildlife.

Not all mines can be safely converted into swimming areas, and drownings in mine lakes have been reported each year.

Flooding and drainage issues

Because these mines are dug very deep into the ground, many mines flood, which can leach toxic chemicals and contaminants into nearby groundwater.

Pumping water out of the mines can reduce surface spillage and contamination, and each mine should be isolated from its surrounding water table.

Strategic engineering

Disused quarries

It is important that quarries are well designed and sited in locations that will minimise damage.

Mines located in flat areas near sea level or where groundwater is shallow are likely to have surface water drainage problems.

Mines are usually shallower open pits than others.

Some quarries have earthen trenches built around them to absorb any groundwater that enters.

Mines experiencing high water levels are sometimes worked from the bottom using a method called dredging.

Ecological remediation

Quarry equipment

Stone quarries and the material they extract are an integral part of countless industries.

They have existed for thousands of years, and have been improved over time to increase efficiency and minimise environmental damage.

While generally unsightly, quarries generate a considerable amount of physical and noise pollution.

Transport of the material further adds to the pollution, and wheel washing systems are increasingly being used to reduce contamination of public roads.

An example of successful quarry rehabilitation is Butchart Gardens, a popular attraction on Vancouver Island, Canada, which is set up on an abandoned limestone quarry.

Quarries can also be used to generate electricity, and the slope can be used for gravel transport and energy production.

Professionals are encouraged to adopt and engage in effective and innovative sustainable solutions to reduce waste and fuel consumption and, wherever possible, reduce emissions and carbon footprint.

Summary 

Italian Marble Quarrying

Extracting, or quarrying, gravel, sand, rock and other minerals from the Earth's surface is a process of obtaining materials for various purposes, primarily construction.

Quarries have a long history and have been integral to the creation of many ancient and modern artistic and engineering masterpieces.

Quarries have evolved greatly since mining operations were developed. There have been many changes in mining and transportation methods.

Different types of rocks and minerals are quarried for different purposes.

The two most commonly extracted types are aggregates, such as gravel and sand, and dimension stone, such as marble or sandstone slabs.

Quarries use an open-pit structure, and often work in conjunction with nearby industrial plants to produce additional building materials using aggregates extracted from the quarry, such as cement and asphalt.

The quarrying industry produces a wide range of materials needed for daily life, and supports infrastructure through the reliable construction of buildings, roads, etc.

Although they look unsightly, efforts are being made to improve their safety and environmental impact.