About Quarrying

What is Quarrying?

Quarrying is the process of extracting minerals and natural resources like rocks, sand, and gravel from the surface of the earth. These materials, known as aggregates, are essential for building homes, roads, hospitals, schools and other infrastructure.

The Difference Between Mining and Quarrying

Mining and quarrying are the leading extractive heavy industries in Australia. Quarrying is defined as any mineral extraction work done on the surface of the earth, while mining typically occurs beneath the earth's surface and in enclosed spaces.

Key Facts:

  • Generates over $160 billion in revenue annually
  • Creates 10,000+ direct jobs and 80,000+ indirect jobs
  • Supplies 200+ million tonnes of construction materials yearly

Often located in rural and regional areas

How Quarries Help Us

Supporting Construction

Australian quarries supply the essential materials for our $200+ billion construction sector, which employs over one million Australians.

What Do Quarries Produce?

Common Products:

  • Crushed rock, sand, gravel
  • Limestone, gypsum, clay
  • Materials for concrete, asphalt, roads
  • Building stone and aggregates
  • Silica

End Uses:

  • Concrete and asphalt
  • Road construction
  • Building foundations
  • Railway ballast

How Quarry Products Are Produced

To meet specified Particle Size Distribution (PSD) requirements, raw materials are reduced in size and graded to ensure consistency through Crushing and Screening.

Crushing Process:

  • Jaw Crusher: Primary crusher for reducing raw feed
  • Compression Crusher: Secondary and tertiary crusher for specific sizing
  • Screening: Mechanical grading to achieve desired material fractions

Economic Benefits

  • Stimulate local communities through investment and jobs
  • Keep construction costs low through local supply
  • Reduce transport costs and environmental impact
  • Support rural and regional employment

Environmental Advantages

Local quarries mean:

  • Fewer delivery trucks on roads
  • Reduced CO2 emissions
  • Less traffic congestion
  • Lower accident risk

Types of Quarries

Quarries vary according to geology and deposit type:

  • Hard rock quarries
  • Natural sand quarries
  • Natural sand and gravel quarries
  • Sandstone quarries (building stone and sand)
  • Marine/ocean quarries
  • Limestone quarries

Quarries have operated for thousands of years, with evidence dating back over 200,000 years.

Learn More

Glossary of Quarrying Terms IQA Education Courses Join the Quarrying Community

The essential materials extracted from quarries are the foundation of our homes, schools, hospitals, roads and almost all aspects of the built environment that we depend on.