CHAPTER 5 QUARRY SUPERVISOR This chapter provides information on the selection and  operations  of  pits  and  quarries.  It  describes  basic principles  of  site  selection,  preparation,  and  methods and  techniques  of  developing  pits  and  quarries. QUARRY  SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITIES Pit and quarry operations in the Naval Construction Force  (NCF)  are  normally  managed  by  Alfa  company. The  operations  chief  of  Alfa  company  is  usually responsible  for  the  pit  and  quarry  operations  and normally  assigns  a  quarry  supervisor  to  direct  the operations of the pit and quarry. PITS AND QUARRIES The  operation  of  the  pit  and  quarry  is  directly determined by the material requirements and tasking for construction  projects  and  rock  crushing  operations.  The size of the crew assigned to support the pit or quarry operations   is   dictated   by   the   availability   of   the equipment and material required for a construction task. Pits and quarries are classified according to the type of  material  they  contain  and  the  methods  used  to excavate and process the material (table 5-1). Pits Pits are excavations made at the earth’s surface in unconsolidated materials, such as clay, sand, gravel, coral,  and  laterite.  They  are  sites  from  which  suitable construction  materials  are  obtained  in  quantity,  being removed or extracted from the surface without the use of blasting. Alluvial or stream-deposited gravel pits yield gravel that is usually clean and free of clay and humus and are therefore desirable for concrete and bituminous work. Bank or hill gravel pits yield a clayey gravel that is desirable for road or runway surfacing because of its binding qualities. Gravel is also used for base courses and fills. Soil (other than sand and gravel) selected  for  use  in  embankments,  fills,  and  subgrades  is obtained  from  borrow  pits.  Miscellaneous  pits  contain mixed tailings, slag, cinders, or the like, which are also used for road or runway surfacing and as aggregates. Quarries Quarries are sites where large, open excavations are made for the purpose of extracting or removing rock in its natural state by drilling, cutting, and blasting. In some cases, it may be possible to remove and break up rock by use of dozer rippers and bull pricks (jack hammer attachment). The primary types of rocks obtained from quarries are igneous and metamorphic, such as trap rock, granite,  diorite,  geneiss,  quartize,  and  certain  shales. Military  quarries  are  generally  open-faced,  which means the vertical surface of the rock is exposed. Since seldom used in its inplace state, quarry rock is processed with  mobile  equipment  that  crushes,  screens,  and washes. SITE SELECTION Before a pit or quarry is located, an investigation of the site must be performed to establish that suitable construction  materials  are  available  in  adequate amounts  and  that  the  excavation  can  be  worked efficiently  with  available  equipment.  Whenever possible, existing pits and quarries are used because (1) the quantity and quality of materials can easily be determined; (2) good haul and access roads are probably already built; (3) less effort can be spent on removal of overburden; and (4) facilities, such as ramps, hoppers, bins,  power,  and  water,  are  generally  available. The chosen site should be as close as possible to the construction project and convenient to good routes of transportation. This allows more efficient hauling by decreasing the length of haul roads. Pit and quarry haulage is usually accomplished with equipment, such as dump trucks and scrapers. Soil  Formation The  formation  of  soil  is  a  continuous  process. Basically, the crust of the earth consists of rock that geologists  classify  into  three  groups:  igneous,  which  is formed by cooling from a molten state; sedimentary, formed by the accumulation and cementing of existing particles  and  remains  of  plants  and  animals;  and metamorphic, formed from existing rocks that have been subjected to heat and pressure. When the rock is 5-1