Rock of Ages invests in future of Bethel White Quarry
The Bethel White Quarry in Bethel, VT, dates back to
the 1800s, and it is a staple among the sites owned and operated by Rock of
Ages Corp.
Dating back to the 1800s, the Bethel White Quarry in Bethel, VT, is a staple among the sites owned and operated by Rock of Ages Corp. Currently, the quarry is undergoing an extensive development effort to maintain its long-standing history of high-quality production well into the future.
The Bethel White Quarry was among the first commercially operated quarries in the U.S., and material from the site was used for a range of historic buildings and national landmarks. These include government facilities such as the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, WI, (among several other state capitol buildings), the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC, and the U.S. Post Office, also in Washington, DC. In recent years, stone from the site has been used for the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City, UT, which was a prime destination during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games (see December 2000 Stone World, page 50), and it is being used for the Qatar Convention Center in Doha Qatar (see September 2010 Stone World, page 116). The material is also exported in block form to stoneworking plants around the world, primarily in Italy and China.
Currently, the Bethel White Quarry is undergoing an
extensive development effort to maintain its long-standing history of high-quality
production well into the future.
The expansion effort has crews going deeper into the mine, extracting stone from the original area where the quarry was first founded. “We are opening the site to the point that we can go deeper in [the original] spot and still be a loader quarry,” Campo said.
In addition to extracting stone using modern technology such as diamond wire saws and slot drills - including Tamrock/Sandvik 600 slot liners and Tamrock/Sandvik 550 deep hole drills - workers use time-honored techniques in the quarry. “We still feather and wedge to break blocks,” Campo said. The quarry employs 16 workers over two shifts, and the quarry yield is 6,000 cubic meters per year.
A typical extracted block of Bethel White is 3 m x 160 cm x random. “We always try to quarry gangsaw-sized blocks.” Campo said, adding that the stone can be cut in either direction. “It is versatile not only for us, but for our customers, so they can get maximum recovery.”
“We have been working on this development for the past
few winters,” explained Bob Campo, Vice President of Quarry Sales for Rock of
Ages, who added that stone is typically extracted from the quarry from March to
late December each year.
A range of drills - including Tamrock/Sandvik 600 slot
liners and Tamrock/Sandvik 550 deep hole drills - are in operation at the
quarry.
The quarry employs 16 workers over two shifts.
Rock of Ages has also invested in new wire saws at the Bethel White Quarry, including models from Profora and Benetti.
In addition to utilizing modern equipment in the
quarry, workers also rely on classic techniques, such as using feathers and
wedges to break blocks.
A typical extracted block of Bethel White is
3 m
x 160 cm x random. “We always try to quarry gangsaw-sized blocks.” Campo
said.
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