Hi All
I am interested in finding out in what ways can mines excavate stone.

I am aware of using TNT to blast the rock off but I was wondering if anybody else knows any other ways of dong it. And if you do would you be able to explain the process or refer to a place where I can read up on it a bit more.

Thanks a lot

P.S. I am new to the natural stone so please take that in to count.

Call the Marble Institute of America. The will be able to help you. www.marble-institute.com

BigZ,

Here is a good informational link to get you statred. http://quarriesandbeyond.org/quarry...html#links

This MIA member company offers a unique alternative to TNT. www.dexpan.com

Here is my favorite informational link about quarries : http://www.virtualquarry.co.uk/
I found it while looking for Webby nominated sites.

Jeff
MIA

Is there a way to replace mountain tops?

Stack back up the stone slabs smarty guy you

Posted By Jon Olson on 12 Oct 2010 12:50 PM
Is there a way to replace mountain tops?

Jon:

Unfortunately, no. Once they rip the top off a mountain to excavate bauxite from which they extract the aluminum tryhydrate, the filler in solid surface, it doesn't usually go back the same.

Joe

Heh, good one.

Not quite the same amount, though.

Posted By Tom M on 13 Oct 2010 12:11 AM
Heh, good one.

Not quite the same amount, though.

You're correct Tom.  Since Bauxite must be refined before use, larger volumes of earth and rock must be disturbed in the mining process.  Additionally, large quantities of power are used in the refining process.

Back to the original post......in the extraction of cubic/block materials, blasting is getting less commonplace.  Most modern quarrys drill vertically and horizontally, then use diamond wires (like a chainsaw) to separate large blocks.  Then a "pillow" of earth and rock is constructed below the wall.  It is knocked over (with explosives or hydraulic pillows), or pulled over with large excavators.  Once separated, the large block is further processed into smaller blocks that can be loaded and transported to slab and tile factories.

So, Mark, you are claiming that there is a greater area of land removed for solid surface than stone to make a comparable amount of sheetgoods used for countertops?

I'd like to see some verifiable data on that.

Not in any of my posts did I make such a claim.

I would be interested in that type of study.  Between the extraction, raw materials refinement, and end-use manufacturing.  Total raw materials and natural resources (energy spent) in the overall process would be an interesting comparison.

I have no idea even what the direct percentage yield from stone quarries are, but ideally what stone is not used in it's raw extracted volume (tiles or slabs) can conceivably be used as crushed aggregate for a number of other processes.  I doubt that ANY quarry is ideal.

Back on topic again.......there was an interesting article about quarrying in last month's Stone World Magazine (Sept '10, starting on page 58):

http://digital.bnpmedia.com/publica...n/?i=46413

Mark, thank you for the clarification.

I'm not belittling your statement either. I would be interested in a study as well, but the stone part would seem to be much easier to quantify. You have the slab cut from the block, less the waste from block to polish.

The bauxite to sheet would be a nightmare to figure with all the other extractions going for the multitude of products the alumina gets used for. Then you would need, in fairness, to add the other elements which have their own environmental impact, but are not included in simple bauxite extraction.

A daunting process.

A daunting process indeed.

Here's a cool video posted by Michael Reis at Stone World Magazine.
It shows the stone "shelf" being pulled over onto a pillow of dirt by large excavators...

http://www.youtube.com/StoneWorldMa...jHPocIFnz8

Talk about having to know what the frak you're doing...

and to think, there are 100 ton blocks in the stonework in Egypt....

That's a big @** paperweight, right there, I mean to tell ya.

Nice Video from the quarry.

Funny the Nacarado looks like a marble in the block.  FWIW If any of you guys just getting into stone land a Nacarado (or Sienna Pearl) job,  do a  LOT of research before you bid it.

This stuff is very very hard.  Way hard.  Took me two turbo blades to drop a  cooktop hard.

Makes cutting normal stones feel like cutting Corian in comparison.   BUT.. It is really pretty stuff.

Posted By Kowboy on 12 Oct 2010 05:15 PM

Posted By Jon Olson on 12 Oct 2010 12:50 PM
Is there a way to replace mountain tops?

Jon:

Unfortunately, no. Once they rip the top off a mountain to excavate bauxite from which they extract the aluminum tryhydrate, the filler in solid surface, it doesn't usually go back the same.

Joe

Joe,

They do not remove mountain tops to mine bauxite. I think you may have confused Bauxite with Coal.

That’s one thing I have always admired about people in the stone industry. They know and appreciate the fascinating science of geology. Bauxite is not deep mined. It is a sedimentary rock that is formed by erosion. Most of the deposits are mined in Mary’s home, Australia (worlds number 1 producer), followed by #2 producer -China with the US coming in at the bottom of the list.

There are two forms of Bauxite. Karst Bauxite (Carbonate Bauxite) with is formed by erosion and generally is layered over other cabonates like limestone for example. 
Then there is lateritic Bauxite which comes from the weathering of silicate rocks like granite. In either case the deposits don’t occur on mountain tops and are generally confined to plains, plateaus and hills.

The deposits occur in a layer that carpets a particular region and are very near the surface. The carpet of bauxite is generally between ½ meter and 1 meter below the soil surface. The thickness of the bauxite deposit is generally 3-5 meters but occasionally can be up to 10 meters thick. The deposits generally occur at lower elevations.

I should know, I’ve been to more than 1 Bauxite mining operation abroad.

Im kind of busy right now, but if you would like later this evening or tomorrow I can describe a bauxite mining operation to you in great detail.

Oh this is a great thread BTW. I really enjoyed the information on granite quarrying. I have been to granite quarrys in China but its always nice to get additional information. Thanks everyone!