Quarrying could be a disaster, explain.
Answers
A quarry is a place where rocks, sand, or minerals are extracted from the surface of the Earth. A quarry is a type of mine called an open-pit mine, because it is open to the Earth's surface.
Marble Quarry
This huge quarry in Carrara, Italy, has been a source of high-quality marble for centuries. Carrara marble, one of the most expensive building materials today, was used by Michelangelo to carve his famous statue of David.
Quarries change their environment. They displace huge amounts of soil and plants, and force animals out of the area. Abandoned quarries rarely leave enough soil to allow life to return to the area.
Some abandoned quarries can fill with water, creating artificial lakes. Many of these lakes are clear and deep, creating a safe swimming environment for people and some aquatic animals, such as frogs and birds. Sometimes, however, lakes created by abandoned quarries have mining equipment left on the bottom, making them unsafe for swimming. Toxic materials exposed by mining activities can also leak into water at abandoned quarries.
Answer:
Quarrying is the process of removing rock, sand, gravel or other minerals from the ground in order to use them to produce materials for construction or other uses. So, a quarry is any such working on the surface of the earth where minerals are extracted. Quarries are also known by other names around the world: 'surface mine', ‘pit’, 'open pit' or 'opencast mine'. Within the UK, the largest quantity of mineral extracted by quarrying is used for construction and known as "aggregates".
What is the difference between a mine and a quarry?
In the UK a 'mine' is defined legally as an underground working and a 'quarry' as a site of mineral extraction without a roof. In other parts of the world, the world, ‘mining’ is used interchangeably with ‘quarrying’.
The term 'quarrying' is often associated with a place where natural stone is extracted to produce building stone or dimension stone and the name is thought to be derived from the latin 'quadraria' which described such a place.
The term 'mining' was similarly associated with places where minerals were extracted to produce metals or coal.
What do quarries produce?
Quarries principally produce sand and gravel and crushed rock for construction and these materials are usually described as’ aggregates’.
Materials produced by quarries:
Gypsum
Salt
Potash
Coal
Chemical grade Limestoe
Common Clays
China Clay
Kaolin
Ball Clays
Silica sand
Thus, quarries are often associated with process plants the most important of which are ready-mixed-concrete plants, coating plants to produce asphalt and bituminous road-making materials, cement and lime burning kilns, concrete block and pipe works, brick works, pottery works and plaster/plasterboard factories.
If you are searching for more information on minerals, please take a look at our Minerals Use page that highlights its importance and how they are used all around us.