Quarry

A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to manage their safety risks and reduce their environmental impact.

The word quarry can also include the underground quarrying for stone, such as Bath stone.

Stone industry is one of the oldest in the world. Creation of stone tools (microliths industry) in the region of South Africa has been dated to about 60,000–70,000 years ago. Granite and marble mining has existed as far back as ancient Egypt. Crushed stone was used extensively by the first great road building civilizations, such as ancient Greece and ancient Rome.

In the eighteenth century, the use of drilling and blasting operations was mastered.

Stone industry refers to the part of the primary sector of the economy, similar to the mining industry, but concerned with excavations of stones, in particular granite, marble, slate and sandstone. Other products of the industry include crushed stone and dimension stone.

Types of rock extracted from quarries include:

The method of removal of stones from their natural bed by using different operations is called quarrying. Methods of quarrying include:

Following steps are used in the blasting process;