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.
A quarry is often mistaken for other types of open-pit or open-cast mines such as borrow or gravel pits.
Types of rock extracted from quarries include:
Cinder
China Clay
Coquina
Construction aggregate
Granite
Gritstone
Gypsum a mineral
Limestone
Marble
Sandstone
Slate
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 constructed 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.
By Appointment
DE FERRANTI
South Park Studios - Suite 10
88 Peterborough Road, London SW6 3HH
United Kingdom
