“This year, we will have 10 [quarries] in operation at one time,†said Yvan Grise, CGA, President and General Manager of Polycor's quarry division. “We will quarry two to three years at each quarry to extract material.†Grise explained that skilled quarry workers are transported around to different sites depending on the needs of each quarry.
The quarry is comprised of a series of vertical joints, which are sometimes very tight and other times are between 20 and 50 feet apart. To cut the blocks, six Pellegrini wire saws are on site. The diamond wire used in the saws comes from Diamant Boart and Tyrolit Vincent. “Cambrian Black can't fracture, so that's why we use diamond wire there,†said Grise, adding that this method is preferable over using explosives. “Blasting opens the cracks more and creates microfissures.â€