What is Quarrying?

What is the difference between mining and quarrying?

Mining and quarries are the leading extractive heavy industries in Australia. Quarrying is defined as any mineral extraction work that is done on the surface of the earth. While, mining typically occurs beneath the earth’s surface and in enclosed spaces. In Australia, quarrying is its own industry — generating more than $160 billion in revenue, and creating thousands of jobs, often in rural and regional areas. The building and construction industry relies on the essential materials extracted from quarries. Extracted materials are used to build Australian roads, towns, and cities. The most common raw materials extracted at a quarry are construction aggregates such as crushed rock, sand or gravel. These abundant, yet essential raw materials, are the foundation of our homes, schools, hospitals, roads and almost all aspects of the built environment that we depend on.

What do quarries produce?

Quarries produce a variety of raw materials by extracting earth that will vary in contents according to geology and deposit type. Raw minerals are processed into end product at processing plants where they become building and construction materials such as cement, concrete, asphalt, brick, stone, clay and plaster.
Some of the minerals and materials produced by quarries are:

• Stone
• Sand
• Gravel
• Gypsum
• Salt
• Potash
• Coal
• Limestone
• Common Clays
• Silica

Types of Quarries

Quarries vary according to geology and deposit type. The type of quarries operated include:

• Hard rock
• Natural sand
• Natural sand and gravel
• Sandstone (building stone and sand)
• Marine/ocean
• Limestone

Quarries have operated for thousands of years. There is evidence of quarries dating back over 200,000 years, when pre-historic man-made improvised tools.  For a comprehensive Glossary of Quarrying Terms CLICK HERE.

How are Quarry Products Produced?

In order to meet specified Particle Size Distribution (PSD) requirements of the end-users specifications, raw materials are reduced in size and graded to ensure consistency. This is typically achieved though Crushing and Screening. The selection of the types of crushers to be used will depend on multiple factors such as geology, raw feed, productivity, and end user specifications.
A Jaw Crusher is typically used as a "primary crusher" in reducing raw feed to maximise the productivity of secondary crushers.
A Compression Crusher is typically used as a "secondary and tertiary crusher" in reducing raw feed to a size and gradation suitable for screening or additional crushing. 
Screening is the process of mechanically grading materials to achieve a desired fraction of the materials introduced. This fraction will be "cut and sized" using screens made of woven wire in unbound pavement production.

Quarry Products

Quarry products can be divided into categories based on their key end use. Each product is produced to ensure its suitability for the intended end use, in accordance with specifications and standards, which are either set nationally or by an individual customer. The source rock type must also be suitable for the intended end use, and include the inherent physical and chemical properties of a rock type for its proposed use.

Four basic categories of quarry product types

Rock Products:

• Armour stone
• Gabion and mattress rock

Aggregates:

• Can be a single sized material or a graded aggregate consisting of a blend of single sized aggregates
• Ballast
• Drainage materials
• Concrete and asphalt aggregate

Base Materials:

• Fills (structural, general purpose)
• Unbound pavement materials (road base)

Sands and Crusher Dust:

• Natural and manufactured (coarse and fine)

The key end use for quarrying products

• Concrete
• Asphalt
• Unbound pavements
• Rail ballast
• Armour rock