The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Quarrying

The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Quarrying

A quarry is a mine where rocks and minerals are extracted from. They are usually open and are justifiably called open mines. The concept of quarries have been in existence for centuries and ages. The great pyramids of Giza were constructed using humongous granite and limestone that were prized out of the Earth by using quarries.

During ancient times, stone was mined by taking advantage of hand tools like hammers and chisels that were constructed out of bronze and such. Pulleys were used to move the stones and sometimes they needed to be pushed out of the quarry manually. Nowadays with the growth of technology and the advancements made by machines, tools such as drillers and blasters along with machinery to haul the heavy stones out can be used to accomplish the task with comparatively less effort. There are even drilled with diamond tips which can be used to drill through tough patches. With limestone paving it gives impressive value to your property.

One of the main advantages of quarries is that it provides the locals around with a variety of jobs and hence helps keep the unemployment rate down. Unskilled workers can at least be put to drive the mining trucks and deliver the stone and the skilled workers can be put in charge of equipment and such. The demand for quarrying is very high since limestone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limestone_pavement is used during the construction of houses and such mainly to build limestone retaining walls or limestone walls. By maintaining quarry mines it helps the general economy.

Dust pollution from quarries has been deemed as a huge problem of operating quarries. This air pollution can put the nearby population under severe risk of breathing problems and other health hazards. The dust caused can also have adverse effects on the surrounding fauna and flora and some quarries are also known to have chemical effects on the plants which can have longstanding consequences.

Quarries also generate large amounts of noise. This is due to the drilling and the need to put down proper routes into the mine such as building roads or rail tracks. The mining trucks moving in and out of the compound combined with the excavators being hard at work most of the time can be a major ear sore for the general population living around the area. Often the need arises to rig a rock with explosives so that it is possible to extract the required material and this too contributes to the noise pollution.

Quarries also cause a lot of damage to the environment around it. The need to extract means the trees and the habitats around need to be cleared and razed down. This destroys the habitat for the animals and creatures that live in that particular region.

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