What is Quarrying?

What is quarrying? This is a common question which we are always answering for our customers all the time, and we’re always happy to help!

What is quarrying?

So, what really is quarrying? Quarrying is the extraction of stone or other materials from the earth. The materials we produce from quarrying are be sand, gravel and crushed rock. We refer to these as aggregates. Quarries have different names around the world; some examples are ‘surface mines’, ‘pits’, ‘open pits’ and ‘opencast mines’.Commonly, quarrying and mining can be mix up. These are two very popular, but different processes which are used for extracting varied materials. Both incorporate the extraction of different minerals; however both have different processes and methods. Both process have different tools and machines for their jobsQuarry produces materials such as sand, gravel and stone. Whereas mining produces various metals, coal and gemstones. The materials which come from both quarrying and mining include dimension stone, gravel and clay.Here at Armstrongs, we have 5 quarries which are located in the North West, Lancashire and Cumbria. These are Montcliffe, Pilkington, Brinscall, Shap and Waddington Fell.

Why do we need quarries?

The material which we produce using quarrying is essential to everyday life. Construction is a vital part of the world and our advancements. We must build roads and buildings to help us with travel, living, business and leisure. More than ever, the quarrying industry needs talented men and women to help operate the quarries of today, and the future.The largest quantity of mineral extracted by quarrying in the UK is used for construction, and known as ‘aggregates’.Armstrongs have produced and supplied over 1 million tonnes of Aggregates for uses in construction, Concrete and much more. If you want to know more about our involvement with concrete, Check our our AMIX concrete web page.You can keep up with our latest quarrying news and updates on all our social medias such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.