Home > Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone . Quarries are usually shallower than other types of open-pit mines.People in some English-speaking countries are unlikely to make the distinction between this type of mine and any other type of open-pit or open-cast borrow or gravel pit mining operation.
Quarries in level areas often have special engineering problems for drainage. The coquina quarry at the right is excavated to more than sixty feet (18 meters) below sea level. To reduce surface leakage a moat, lined with clay, was contructed around the entire quarry. Ground water that seeps into the pit is pumped up into the moat.
Many quarries fill with water to become ponds or small lakes after abandonment for mining purposes. Others have become landfills.
Types of rock extracted from quarries include:
- Cinder
- CoquinaCoquina is an incompletely consolidated sedimentary rock, mainly composed of mineral calcite, often including some phosphate, in the form of seashells or coral. It is created in association with marine reefs. While not usually referred to as such, it is a
- Blue rock
- GraniteGranite is a common and widely-occurring group of intrusive felsic igneous rocks that form at great depths and pressures under continents. Granite consists of orthoclase and plagioclase feldspars, quartz, hornblende, biotite, muscovite and minor accessory
- GritstoneGritstone is a sedimentary rock composed of coarse sand grains and is a coarser version of sandstone. Gritstone is usually laid down in water and frequently shows signs of cross bedding or current bedding. It is quarried for building material. British gri
- Limestoneshale overlaid by limestone. Cumberland Plateau, Tennessee Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed of mineral calcite (calcium carbonate). The primary source of this calcite is usually marine organisms. These organisms secrete shells that settle out of t
- MarbleThis page is about the metamorphic rock. For the game with little glass spheres see marbles. Marble is metamorphosed limestone, composed of fairly pure calcite (a crystalline form of calcium carbonate, Ca C O). It is extensively used for sculpture, as an
- SandstoneSandstone is an arenaceous sedimentary rock composed mainly of feldspar and quartz and varies in colour (in a similar way to sand), through grey, yellow, red, and white. Since sandstones often form highly visible cliffs and other rock formations, certain
- SlateAlternate meanings in Slate (disambiguation Slate is a fine-grained homogeneous sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash which has been metamorphosed (foliated) in layers (bedded deposits). Slate can be made into roofing shingles ('roofing slates
See also
- List of rocksThis page is intended as a list of all rock types. See also: List of minerals List of stone Earth science mineralogy mineraloid rock metamorphic rock igneous rock sedimentary rock Sorted by name: A : Amphibolite : Andesite : Anorthosite : Aplite B : Basal
- List of minerals and stone types
- List of stone
- Collecting fossils
Mining
