Granite is a mineral. Extraction of granite. Methods of mining granite

The modern construction industry offers consumers a huge amount of materials capable of both speeding up, facilitating, and embellishing the result of repair work or the construction of new premises. However, the natural stone has not yet surrendered its positions. He remains all the same in demand and popular. What can we say about our ancestors who knew about the merits of natural materials, perhaps, is much better than us. It's not for nothing that they say that granite is a useful mineral: thanks to him, up to the present time architectural masterpieces and unique sculptures have also reached.

How he was educated

It is thanks to the way of its origin that granite has acquired its unique properties. All its varieties are formed by volcanic eruptions: the flowing magma flowed into the earth's cavities, located very deep beneath the surface. The tremendous temperatures of these masses declined gradually, and even under considerable pressure, which was exerted on them by the layers of earth above. As a result, igneous rocks crystallized fully, forming granite - a useful mineral.

Appearance and physical properties of stone

In the translation from the language of ancient Greece, its name means "grains", "granularity". At the same time, the relative porosity of granite is rather low: even in coarse grains (the most "coarse" among all three structures), it rarely exceeds 6-7 mm. And in fine-grained varieties, the diameter of the grains does not reach two. At the same time, the size of the "cells" seriously affects the strength and long-term operation of structures made of this stone - the smaller their diameter, the stronger the granite.

Granite (mineral) in addition to its strength and density is also characterized by decorative. It increases when polished. The most common is the black variety, it is also the least valuable. Color options have a pink (up to red) color, and green and yellow. Such breeds are widely used in architecture and construction.

Building advantages of granite

This stone, especially its fine grains, is amazingly resistant to the influence of time: even after five hundred years, destruction only begins to manifest itself. At the same time, it very successfully counteract friction, it is difficult to compress and is resistant to abrasion. Atmospheric influences also have little effect on granite. Minerals of this type are not very acidic and practically do not absorb water, which makes it an ideal material for finishing embankments, including the coastal sea band.

No less important is that this natural stone actually does not lend itself to the effects of frost (it is very important in our latitudes!) And it gets very dirty.

For finishing, granite also fits perfectly, as it harmonizes with metal parts, with wood, ceramic parts, and the most modern materials. Yes, and with all our finickyness it is necessary to recognize that the natural stone perfectly keeps the summer cool, and in winter - the warmth of the house.

Granite aesthetics

In addition to purely utilitarian advantages, this stone has a good appearance. Polishing shows its unique structure and richness of colors. But many designers are happy to use and unpolished structure of granite, which perfectly absorbs light and creates wild and unusual interiors.

A variety of color tones can satisfy even the most picky esthete: among the wealth of tones for sure there is what he needs. After all, perhaps, among all facing and building materials there is no other so attractive as granite - photos completely reflect its beauty.

What "guilty" of granite

As expected, this huge "barrel of honey" must have a "fly in the ointment". Of the shortcomings of this natural stone, it is necessary to note the residual radiation inherent in some grades of granite. Therefore, it is mainly used for outdoor works. And those blocks that are intended for internal, must pass a scrupulous test, so as not to harm later the health of people.

In addition, the increased strength of the stone, which is already attributed to its undoubted merits, is both its drawback. The extraction of granite is complicated by its hardness and its fragility combined with it. We have to resort to costly tricks to get a large enough piece of stone intact, and then invest a lot of labor to bring it to mind. Therefore granite works are so expensive.

Features of the development

For most solid minerals, it is not so important in what form they are extracted from the veins, because they are supposed to be further processed (melting, burning, etc.). Therefore, the fragmentation of the surrounding rocks does not harm the extracted matter, the main thing here is the convenience of extraction itself. Completely another matter - facing materials, which includes granite. It is principally for him to obtain a monolithic block without cracks and chips, since these defects can not be hidden by any subsequent tricks. Moreover, such restrictions apply both during storage and during transportation, which significantly complicates the whole process. And if there is a message about minerals (granite among them), we have to carry out a whole range of additional measures aimed at preserving the extracted in integrity.

The most common method

There are different ways to extract granite, and the quality of the stone directly depends on the type of granite used. At the moment, there are three known ways, and, unfortunately, the most barbarous is used most often - explosive. It consists in drilling holes for the charge, which explodes the rock. Splinters are sorted, the largest of them are sawed out. For most earners, this method is attractive for its cheapness. However, the quality of granite is very low: the blast wave generates a lot of defects in the blocks, as a result of which their strength drops. And there are not so many large fragments at the output - at least a third of the granite crumbles and is suitable only for processing into gravel.

Extraction by air

This is a more gentle way. The beginning is similar to the first option: in the right direction, a well is drilled, a reservoir is placed in it, where air is pumped under pressure. This method makes it possible to use the granite deposit more fully, calculate the fault locations and avoid damage to the block, including even microscopic cracks. Monoliths get much more, and waste - much less. However, the mining company will require preliminary investment in equipment, and the method itself takes longer than explosive.

The most modern variant

He is the most expensive. It is called "stone-cutting method" and requires the acquisition of very expensive equipment and training of personnel. But granite (as well as any other natural stone) at the output - of perfect quality, without the slightest defects (both external and hidden). And the deposit is almost 100% developed.

Russian deposits

The extraction of granite in Russia, sadly, is carried out mainly in an artisanal, explosive way. This is despite the fact that there are many deposits. Such a natural stone is mined in the Urals, Primorye, Khabarovsk Territory, Transbaikalia, Sayan Mountains. There are deposits in the suburbs. The mining business is mainly small private companies, whose volumes are steadily rising, despite the fact that the main fields are in the Urals. They are developed with great difficulty due to climatic difficulties, which increases the required investment and increases the cost of granite. However, the growth in the number of people with high incomes increases the demand for natural stone and stimulates the development of this industrial sector.