Noe Pagel QUARRIES % The stones are obtained from underground by a process of digging, blasting or cutting. This process is known as quarrying and the pit or open excavation from which the stone is obtained is called a Quarry. A quarry is a:place from which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate has been excavated from the ground. * A quarry is the same thing as an open-pit mine from which minerals are extracted. The only trivial difference between the two is that open-pit mines that- produce building materials and dimension stone are commonly referred to. as quarries. * There are four methods commonly used for quarrying: i. Excavating ii, Wedging iii, Heating iv. Blasting Quarry and its location In locating a quarry the following points should be kept in view; The:required building stones should be available in sufficient quantities at or near the surface of the ground. b) Sufficient labour at cheap rates should be locally available. c) Ample means of communication should be available. d) Power should be cheaply available. e) Sufficient quantities of clean water should be available for all year round. f) Drainage of rain water should present no problem. g) Site for the dumping of refuse should be easily available nearby. h) There should be no permanent structure nearby in the case of quarrying by blasting. al =. AaGn eS TTYR :Page i. Excavating “ The method is employed when the stones to be quarried are lying buried in earth or under loose over-burden. Shovels, pick axes, hammers and chisels etc are made use of for the purpose. ii. Wedging This method is suitable for quarrying soft stratified rocks. “+ The operation is started near a vertical face in the absence of which one is created by cutting a channel in it. * Then 10 cm to 15 cm deep holes about 10 cm apart are bored or drilled along the boundary of the slab to be quarried. Steel plugs are then struck with heavy steel hammers called sledge hammers simultaneously in all the holes in a row. Use of steel feathers with plugs is to be preferred. ‘> It will split the slab along the line of holes drilled. In case of softer rocks some result could be achieved by hammering in tightly dry wooden pegs in a row and then pouring water over them so that they expand on becoming wet thereby exerting forces enough to cause a crack along the line of holes. This operation when repeated all along the periphery would detach the slab. Sledge hammer blows on wedges placed at the joint of two layers (known as plane of cleavage) on the exposed face of the rock shall detach the slab completely. It could then be taken away on trolley or rollers. By this method slabs of required sizes could be quarried with minimum of wastages. % The method is suitable for quarrying costly stratified rocks. ili, Heating * This method is suitable where only smaller blocks of more or less regular shape are required and suitable rocks bedded in horizontal layers of not much thickness are to be quarried. + It consists in piling a heap of fuel on a small area of the exposed face of the rock and burning a steady fire for hours.Page * It results in uneven expansion because of unequal heating of the two layers and consequent separation of the upper and lower layers. The separation is indicated by a dull bursting sound. Separated area can be ascertained by noting the hollow sound on striking the area gently with a hammer or with a craw bar. In Soviet Union, quarrying has successfully been done by heating intermediate layers electrically which results in the separation of that layer from the top and bottom layers. This way not only is the work done quickly but also it becomes more economical. The loosened portion is then broken into smaller pieces as desired and removed with pick axes and craw bars. Fairly rectangular blocks required for coursed rubble masonry could be had by experienced workmen. Small sized stones to give road metal and ballast for railway track could, however, are not conveniently had by this method, iv. Blasting It is quarrying stones with explosive. Blasting may sometimes have be done to excavate foundations for buildings, road structures in rock work and for tunneling, etc. The purpose of blasting for quarrying is to loosen large masses of rocks and not to violently blow up the whole mass causing the breakage of stones into small pieces of no use. ** The operation of blasting constitutes the boring or drilling of holes, charging them with some suitable explosives and the firing the charge. Precautions to be taken while blasting a) Blasting operations should not be carried out in evening or in early mornings. “ It should be done at fixed hours made known to the public. b) Before actual firing, siren should give timely warning to workmen and others to retire to safety. c) Red danger flags should be permanently displayed at a safe distance of about 200 metres all around the area of explosion.a al b) 2 d e) f] cols h) No person except those who have to light the fuses should be allowed in the danger zone till the explosion has taken place. Responsible person should satisfy himself that all the charges have exploded by comparing the number of charges fired with the number of explosions heard. In case of a misfire necessary precautions should be taken. All fuses should be cut to proper length before inserting them into holes. For making holes in cartridges to take detonators only hard wooden pegs should be used. No metallic implement should in any case be used for the purpose. Cartridges should preferably be handled with rubber or polythene gloves on. Precautions against misfires Misfires can prove to be very dangerous. In case of doubt sufficient time should be allowed to elapse before entering the danger zone. Withdrawal of a charge that has not exploded should under no circumstances be allowed The hole should be flooded with water and marked boldly, Not more than 10 bore holes should be exploded at a time and those too successively and not simultaneously. Bore holes should be thoroughly cleaned before inserting the charges in them. If misfire is due to defective explosive, detonators or fuse then the whole of that material should be send for check before being used. To avoid misfire the safety fuse should be cut off in an oblique direction with a knife and after inserting fuse in the detonator it should be fixed by nippers. If there be misfire présent in the bore hole then the junction of fuse and detonator should be rendered watertight by means of tar, tough grease or white lead and the fuse used should be waterproof. In case of misfire another hole should be bored at a distance of at least 50 cm and blasted as usual.PageD ‘Types of rock * Types of rock extracted from quarries include: i. Chalk China clay Cinder Clay v. Coal i. Construction aggregate (sand and gravel) Coquina Diabase Gabbro x. Granite xi. Gritstone xii. Gypsum xiii. Limestone xiv. Marble xv. Ores xvi. Phosphate rock xvii, Sandstone xviii. Slate Types of quarries a) Hard rock quarries. b) Soft rock quarries. Hard rock quarries “Quarrying in hard rock deposits usually requires different techniques to those employed in working generally unconsolidated sand and gravel deposits. Whilst many of the overall considerations are essentially similar e.g. establishing a viable resource determining the available area for development assessing volumes of waste overburden and other allowances identifying the requirements for excavation haulage and processing plant v v v vX Defining the site requirements Hard rock quarries generally take one of two forms: a) Hill-side quarries — characterized by a general downward haulage of excavated material from the quarry area (up slope) to the processing plant (lower down the slope); or, Open-pit quarries — where quarrying workings are generally below the level of the processing plant and excavated material is hauled up and out of the pit. + Hill-side quarries may often become open-pit quarries once the level of excavation has reached, and subsequently extends below, the quarry plant area. * The choice of whether a hill-side or open-pit operation is contemplated is usually dictated by the site topography, ownership boundaries, geological structure and environmental considerations (hill-side quarries can be very obvious features and have a high visual impact). b) Hill side quarryOpen pit quarry a) Confirmation of suitability of quality of quarried products for use; b) Initial estimates of resource quantities; and c) Assessment of potential development constraints. “+ These factors also affect the initial consideration of a hard-rock site and must be considered at the earliest stages of the design process to establish the potential viability of proceeding with designs. * Processing of material excavated from hard-rock quarries can alter its potential use (irrespective of the physical properties of the rock). * Different methods of crushing can produce different shapes of material (which are typically applicable to different potential uses).PageO es therefore be involved in + The quarry designer will, at the initial stag’ many in discussions with other departments within the quarrying com determining the types of materials required. / “ This may affect decisions regarding the rate of working, blasting, and the quantities of waste rock which arises. Since geological properties (fractures, joints and bedding) ! " breakage characteristics of the rock, it is essential that early consideration of the geotechnical properties of the rock mass be given. “ These may affect the type of breakage that would be expected during the quarrying operations and hence the products that may result. the style of ) may affect the Quantitative and qualitative assessments > A quantitati of the volumes of material (overburden and rock) within a hard-rock site will be very similar for that undertaken for sand and gravel deposits. “ This requires a thorough consideration of all available site data (gathered from site investigations, topographic surveys, desk studies etc.) and the preparation of detailed geological models for the site. Plans of the site should be prepared, together with structure contour plans for the rock to be quarried, isopachyte plans of the overburden and if appropriate a consideration of the ultimate floor level of the proposed pit. This may be determined by a consideration of: + a) The level of any local water table; b) The quality of the rock to be worked; c) Planning restrictions; or, d) BA potential limit based on an initial assessment of the overall pit slopes. + From these basic plans, the potential recoverable resource may be assessed. Again, this-may be achieved by computerized methods or by hand calculation. Whichever method is adopted, it is important that this is verified or double- checked by other methods. This may be as simple as calculating volumes based on average areas and thickness of material, using a scale rule placed on the plan.ger * This can identify any ‘order of magnitude’ errors in the initial assessment — a common mistake that, if left unchecked, can have significant consequences subsequently. Qualitative assessments in hard rock quarry designs address the physical appraisal of the material that may be produced when quarrying (which will typically consider the results of laboratory or other tests underta ken on samples recovered during site investigations). They must also, however, consider the geotechnical setting of the proposed quarry site. Data relevant to such assessments is usually gathered through consideration of the site investigation data (which will include detailed logging of core samples) and geological/geotechnical mapping and logging undertaken on any exposures in the area. These are essential in establishing the design rules that will be applicable to the preparation of the quarry design and phasing plans. “* Such design rules include: a. Minimum allowable bench widths (both final positions and working bench widths); Maximum allowable bench heights, and maximum overall slopes in all materials to be excavated; .. Maximum foundation slopes as well as maximum slope angles and heights for in pit and out of pit spoil (this may vary according to the type of material to be placed); . Minimum allowable haul road widths, maximum allowable haul road gradients, circumference of bends and other aspects of mineral haulage in pit (e.g. maximum gradients for in pit conveyors and widths to be allowed for such structures). The geotechnical data will identify differing geotechnical settings within the quarry area and will allow the quarry to be ‘zoned’ accordingly. The assessment should identify the likely slope failure modes in each zone and the design rules will be prepared to reflect each area as appropriate. This may result in varying bench and slope arrangements in different areas of the pit and each must be accommodated in the design. The design rules may also influence such aspects as direction of working and identify face alignments to be avoided in particular settings. b.“ The direction of working can materially influence advancing face stability and will therefore be a prime consideration in the preparation of the quarry phasing plans. > The effects of weathering on rock masses can be significant and may materially affect their suitability for use as an aggregate. + The quarry designer should always be alert to the presence of weathered material in the deposit since it may influence not only the acceptability of the quarried product for sale but may represent zones where stability issues can become problematic. Weathering can be relatively shallow (where there is significant overburden cover) or can extend to some depth in the rock mass. ‘+ Depending on the degree of weathering, some or all of the weathered material at or near surface may in fact represent additional overburden and its volume should be calculated in determining the extent of the resources. “* Deeper weathering may also have occurred along faults, bedding planes or other discontinuities in the rock mass and these may be identified in the SI data. “ The presence of such material, if unacceptable as aggregate, may reduce the available resource further. “+ In some circumstances however, mild weathering may actually improve the rock mass when considered as a body for quarrying. + The opening of joints, etc within the rock may lead to easier digging, with reduced need for explosives and the potential to undertake some primary fragmentation by ripping. Structurally however, this weathering may result in less stable slopes, since the rock mass is more heavily broken to begin with.