Quarrying | Process and Equipment | Applications - Epiroc

Rock has been quarried for the construction of buildings and monuments since before recorded history. There is certainly evidence for stone production in ancient times from numerous sites around the world, although it is unclear at which stage formal quarries began to emerge, rather than people just making use of naturally occurring boulders.

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Within recorded history, we have a better understanding of some of the techniques used in quarry operations. In the Egyptian dynastic period, for instance, construction of the earlier pyramids depended mainly on limestone that was quarried using copper hand tools, while later pyramids, although built mainly of mud brick, still used quarried stone for facing. Granite was also a major building material, especially for detail work, and was quarried directly from the bedrock at locations close to some of the country's largest monuments. Ancient Egyptian stoneworkers cut trenches all the way around the blocks of granite that they wished to extract, isolating them from the bedrock, with the rock then being broken free using massive wooden levers.

The Romans also quarried rock on a vast scale for their construction projects, both for buildings and monuments. A wider range of rock types was produced, including fine marble, which was used for artwork such as sculptures and in public architecture. The Romans used quarry hammers to isolate the blocks they wanted, then used metal wedges to pry them free from the bedrock.

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In the absence of modern technology such as drills and explosives, rock-splitting required the use of other approaches, such as wedging or fire setting. The use of wetted wooden wedges inserted in natural cracks or in shallow holes, with the swelling of the wood causing the rock to split, dates back to ancient times, as does fire-setting. Producing the stone needed for the construction of Great Zimbabwe, for example, is believed to have relied on firesetting to split building blocks from natural granite outcrops, making use of the observation that the local rock weathers naturally along planes of weakness that could be exploited in this way.

Modern Quarrying Techniques

In modern times, quarrying has become much more sophisticated, employing advanced technology and machinery to increase efficiency and precision. Some of the most widely used modern techniques and equipment include:

Drilling and Blasting

Modern quarries often use drills and explosives to extract rock. This allows for the rapid breaking up of large volumes of rock and enables more uniform and precise cuts. Specialized drilling rigs and carefully controlled explosive charges are commonplace in today's quarrying operations.

Diamond Wire Saws

Diamond wire saws are another modern innovation that has transformed the quarrying process. These saws use diamond beads strung on a wire to cut through rock with extraordinary precision, making them ideal for extracting large, uniform blocks of stone with minimal waste.

Hydraulic Breakers

Hydraulic breakers are powerful tools attached to excavators and other heavy machinery, used to break up large rock masses quickly and efficiently. These tools have replaced the manual labor-intensive methods of the past, greatly enhancing productivity and worker safety.

For more detailed information on quarrying equipment, you can always refer to Split Set Mining Systems.

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If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Split Set Mining Systems.