MÉTODOS DE LAVRA APLICADOS À EXTRAÇÃO DE ROCHAS ORNAMENTAIS

Different types of quarry layouts and extraction technologies are used in dimension stone exploitation. The application of each one of them depends on characteristics of the quarry like mineralogy, outcrops, fractures, relief, ground cover etc. If the outcrop exhibits foliation, the extraction is done by removing plates from the quarry face using small hand tools, mostly used in small-scale mining. But if the rock mass is compact, the exploitation can be done taking advantage of loose boulders, if they exist and are available, or by landslides caused by blasting, but the most used method is separating compact blocks from the quarry face by means of cutting and splitting. Some exploration and extraction technologies and basic mine layouts in dimension stone quarries are presented and discussed.