Quarrying - Encyclopedia

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES

QUARRYING, the art of winning or obtaining from the earth's crust the various kinds of stone used in construction, the operation being, in most cases, conducted in open workings.

According to their composition, building stones are broadly classed as granites, sandstones, limestones and slates. Under the first of these heads is included a number of crystalline rock species, such as granite, syenite, gneiss, &c., which to the geologist are quite distinct, but which in commerce are all spoken Kinds of of as granite. They are chiefly composed of one or more minerals of the felspar group mingled with one or more of the micas or with hornblende, and usually contain quartz. Sandstones are chiefly composed of fragments of quartz cemented into solid rock by silica and oxide of iron. Of these there are many varieties, including flagstone used for foot-pavements. Limestones consist principally of carbonate of lime. Their chief variations are the crystalline form known as marble and the deposit from mineral springs known as Mexican onyx. Slates are mudstones or shales hardened by heat and pressure, and rendered fissile by the latter agent. Chemically they consist chiefly of hydrous silicate of alumina. Theoretically, granites are massive, and have no bedding or stratification like sandstones and limestones; but all rock masses are usually found to be more or less shattered by movements of the earth's crust which occur as a result of its constant readjustment to the cooling and shrinking interior, so that the rocks are divided by cracks or fissures, which are commonly known as joints. In the massive granites these joints, which usually occur in two or more planes at right angles to one another, are of the greatest importance to the quarryman, as they enable him to separate masses of stone with approximately parallel faces. In gneisses the parallel arrangement of the minerals usually coincides with a direction of easy cleavage, known to quarrymen as the "rift"; at right angles to this direction is usually one less easy parting, known as the "grain." Sandstones and limestones are stratified rocks which have been formed as sediments in bodies of water; and whether their beds are found in the normal position of horizontality, or whether they have been tilted and folded by earth movements, the direction of easiest separation is coincident with the original planes of sedimentation and parallel to them. This is therefore called the "rift," while the "grain" is at right angles to it. In gneisses, sandstones and limestones joints also occur; and while frequently convenient for the division of the beds into masses of useful size, they may be a detriment, as when they occur so close together as to fall within the limits of a block available for commercial purposes. In commerce the various kinds of building stone are usually designated by the name of the locality or region in which the quarry is situated. In the case of the more important varieties this geographic name usually conveys to the architect or builder full information concerning the colour, texture and other properties of the material. For example, the names Hallowell or Quincy granite, Medina or Berea sandstone, and Vermont or Tennessee marble, convey in the United States full information to those interested.

The methods of quarrying vary with the composition and hardness of the rocks, their structure, cleavage, and other physical properties; also with the position and character of the deposits or rock-masses. The general pur pose of the work is to separate the material from its bed in masses of form and size adapted to the intended use. Cutting the stone to accurate dimensions, dressing, rubbing and polishing are subsequent operations not involved in quarrying.

The practice of quarrying consists in uncovering a sufficient surface of the rock by removing superficial soil, sand or clay, or by sinking a shaft or slope, and then with proper tools and, when necessary, with explosives, detaching blocks of form and size adapted to the purpose in view. Frequently the outer portion of the rock has been affected by the action of the weather and other atmospheric agencies, so that it has become discoloured or softened by decay. This weathered material must be removed before stone can be obtained for use.

A quarry should, if possible, be opened on a hillside, for in this case it is usually much easier to dispose of the water which necessarily collects in any deep excavation, and which, if drainage by gravity is not afforded, must be removed by pumping, at considerable expense. As it is generally most convenient to operate on a vertical face of rock, the preliminary work of opening a quarry is usually directed toward the production of this result; but its accomplishment involves the waste of a certain amount of stone, which must be broken into irregular and useless pieces. The separation of blocks of building stone is effected ordinarily by drilling holes along the outlines of the block to be removed, and then, by exploding blasting-powder in the holes, or by driving wedges into them, exerting sufficient force to overcome the cohesion of the rock and rend it asunder. In many quarries it is found most convenient to separate a large mass and afterwards divide it into blocks of the required size. When the rock is stratified, or has an easily determined "rift," the holes are drilled at right angles to the plane of separation. When there is no stratification or "rift," or these ratural planes of separation are too far apart, or when the position of the joints is not advantageous, a row of horizontal holes must be drilled into the face or "breast" of the quarry, along which separation is effected by the use of wedges. Of late at certain American quarries, in a granite which has no rift or direction of ready cleavage, compressed air has been brought into service to effect the separation of extensive layers. A hole is drilled as deep as the desired thickness of the layer to be separated, and a small charge of dynamite is exploded at the bottom of it. This develops a cavity in which a small charge of powder is next exploded, producing a crack or crevice parallel to the surface of the rock. A pipe for conveying compressed air is now sealed into the opening, and gradually increasing pressure is introduced. This results in the gradual extension of the crevice developed by the explosion of the powder. In the absence of compressed air, water under pressure may be used and also small powder charges exploded at intervals of a few days. In thinly bedded sandstones, where vertical joints are frequent, it is often possible to separate the desired slabs and flagstones with crowbars and wedges, without drilling or the use of explosives. When blasting is necessary, some form of gunpowder is generally used, rather than a violent explosive-like dynamite, in order to avoid shattering the rock. This, however, applies only to dimension stone. When the production of broken stone for road-making, concrete, or similar purposes is the sole end in view, violent explosives are preferred. In limestones and marbles and in the softer sandstones, channelling machines, driven by steam, are employed, by which vertical or oblique grooves or channels can be cut with great rapidity to a depth of several feet. A level bed of rock is cleared, and on this are laid rails, along which the machine moves. After the channels are cut, a row of holes is bored perpendicular to the former at the desiredtdistance below the surface of the bed, and by driving wedges into these the required blocks are separated.

When the beds of stone to be quarried are thin, and when to remove the whole of the overlying mass of earth or rock would be too expensive, it is found convenient to treat the quarry as if it were a mine, and to rely upon methods similar to those practised in mining. A horizontal bed of rock is usually opened at its outcrop on some hillside, or if this is impracticable, as shaft or slope is excavated to reach it. If dimension stone is required, a deep horizontal groove is cut near the top or the bottom of the bed. The quarry face is then divided into blocks by saw-cuts, channels, or rows of drill-holes, and the blocks are separated by wedging or blasting. As the excavation or stoping progresses, portions of the rock are left in place as pillars to support the roof. At many localities in Europe where roofing slate is quarried, it is found in beds dipping more or less from the horizontal. These deposits are worked by stopes which follow the inclination of the bed, from which, at convenient intervals, levels are driven across, to take advantage of the cleavage of the slate. As in other subterranean quarries, pillars of rock are left to support the roof, since artificial supports would be more expensive. At some of the marble quarries in Vermont, U.S.A., where the strata are very nearly vertical, the beds are worked to a great depth with a comparatively small surface opening.

See G. P. Merrill, Stones for Building and Decoration (New York, 1898); C. Le N. Foster, A Text-Book of Ore and Stone Mining (London and Philadelphia, 1894); O. Herrman, Steinbruchindustrie and Steinbruchgeologie (Berlin, 1899). (F. J. H. M.)