Dictionary of Quarrying Terms

Dictionary of Quarrying Terms

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BACMI: abbr. British Aggregate Construction Materials Industries. A
former trade association for producers of aggregates, ready mixed
concrete, lime and coated materials which amalgamated with SAGA to
create QPA.

BCA: abbr. British Cement Association. The trade association for

cement manufacturers in the UK.

Back-acter: A shovel which digs towards the Back acter machine and
is capable of digging below track level.

Back breakage: The extent of rock breakage or fracture behind the

burden taken in a blast.

Back emf: Voltage induced in a circuit which opposes the applied

voltage, e.g. in the armature of a dc motor as it rotates in its
magnetic field.

Backfill: Overburden or inferior mineral which is dumped into a

worked out part of an excavation or behind a retaining wall.

Backhoe loader: Self-propelled wheeled machine with a main

structural support designed to carry both a front-mounted bucket
loading mechanism and a rear-mounted backhoe. When used in the
backhoe mode, the machine normally digs below ground level with the
bucket motion towards the machine; the backhoe lifts swings and
discharges the material while the undercarriage is stationary.

Backsight: In surveying, a sight taken towards the previous station.

Bag filter: An apparatus for removing dust from dust-laden air,

employing a container made from woven material which permits passage
of air but retains solid particles.

Bailer: A tube, fitted with a valve at its base, which is lowered

into a borehole to remove cuttings and water.

Balance sheet: A statement showing a company’s assets and

liabilities at one moment in time that is the close of business on
the date shown. All registered limited companies are, by law,
required each calendar year to prepare and publish a balance sheet
for the shareholders’ information and it must be presented in an
approved format.

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Balanced load: Symmetrical arrangements of loads in an electrical

system. Loads are balanced in an ac three-phase system when the
loads taken from each phase are equal and at the same power factor.

Ball bearing: A bearing consisting of a number of hardened steel

balls which roll between an inner race fitted on to the journal and
an outer race held in a housing. The inner and outer races carry
shallow spherical tracks on their outer and inner surfaces
respectively and a cage between the races keeps the rolling elements
separate and evenly spaced.

Ball deck: A coarse mesh secured below the screen surfaces, the area
between the two meshes being divided into compartments each of which
contains a number of hard rubber balls. With the movement of the
screen, the balls bounce freely within their compartments and assist
in preventing blinding or pegging of the screen mat.

Ball mill: A grinding machine consisting of a short, horizontal

cylinder charged with steel balls which break down the mineral
during rotation.

Ballasted tyres: Tyres filled with liquid or dry ballast in order to

increase their weight when fitted to the wheels of tractors,
graders, wheeled dozers etc. This, it is claimed, results in
increased operating efficiency.

Banana screen: A multi-slope vibrating screen. The angle of the deck

decreases from feed end to discharge end.

Bank of cells: A row of flotation cells in line.

Bar: Unit of pressure equal to 100,000 newtons/m2 or Pascals.

Standard atmospheric pressure = 1.0133 bar.

Bar screen: A stationary inclined screen, comprising longitudinal

bars, spaced at intervals, on to which the material to be screened
is fed at the upper end.

Barrel washer: see ‘washing barrel’.

Barytes: Barium sulphate, BaS04. A dense mineral (RD 4.5) used in

the manufacture of paint, textiles and drilling mud, and as an
aggregate in radiation shielding. Can be an undesirable impurity in
limestone.

Basalt: A fine-grained basic igneous rock occurring in dykes, sills

and lava-flows; essential minerals are plagioclase felspar and
augite. Dark grey to black in colour; relative density 2.8-3.3;
aggregate crushing value 7-25.

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 Dictionary of Quarrying Terms

Base charge: 1 The detonating component in a detonator initiated by

the priming charge. 2 The bottom charge in a deep blasthole.

Base line: An accurately measured line which forms one side of the
first triangle in a triangulation survey.

Basecourse: 1 The European term for the layer(s) that form the main
structural element of the road. 2 An obsolete British term for the
European term, binder course, which forms part of the road
immediately below the surface course.

Basic work content: The minimum time, at a standard rate of working,

in which a task can be completed if everything is carried out
perfectly.

Basin: A rock structure in which the strata dip inwards on all

sides.

Batch-heater plant: A heating and mixing plant particularly suited

to the production of a range of coated materials.

Batch mixer: A mixer for bituminous or concrete materials which

mixes batches of such materials, as opposed to continuous mixers.

Batching plant: A plant containing the equipment to measure, by

weight or volume, the quantities of different materials required to
make a correct mix of concrete.

Batholith: A large and, originally, deap-seated igneous intrusion.

See ‘dyke’.

Batter: A constructed, uniform, steep slope. The inclination to the

vertical of such a slope is expressed as one unit horizontally to so
many units vertically. Battery: An assembly of similar units.

Baum jig: A jig used for separating coal from shale in which a
pulsating motion is given to the water by intermittent admission of
compressed air to the wash-box.

Beam compasses: An instrument used to draw arcs of larger radius

than are possible with ordinary compasses. It consists of a beam of
metal or wood carrying two adjustable heads which take a point and a
pen or pencil.

Bearing: 1 The horizontal angle between a datum direction such as

north and a given line. 2 Device provided to support and hold a
revolving shaft in the correct position.

Bed: A layer of rock or mineral.

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Bedding: A formation of distinct sedimentary rock layers or beds one

upon another.

Bedding plane: The interface between two adjacent beds of

sedimentary rock.

Bedplate: A cast-iron plate or steel frame on which a machine is

mounted; it is usually bolted to the floor.

Bedrock: The solid rock underlying superficial deposits.

Behavioural science: A study in man management based on motivation

theory.

Belt feeder: A short endless belt conveyor for feeding material, for
example, from a bunker.

Bench mark: A point of known elevation above Ordnance datum which

has been established by the Ordnance Survey. Abbr: BM.

Benches: The long horizontal levels or steps to which successive

quarry faces are taken and along which mineral, stone or overburden
is worked.

Benching: A method of working opencast pits or quarries in benches

usually using rows of blastholes drilled parallel to the face.

Bending moment: At a given section of a beam, the bending moment is

equal to the algebraic sum of the moments of all the forces to
either side of the section.

Beneficiation: The processing of rocks and minerals to remove

unwanted constituents, i.e. improve their quality.

Berm: An embankment usually constructed from earth or overburden to

form a safety barrier.

Bernoulli’s law: The total kinetic, potential and pressure energy

per unit volume of a fluid passing through a system is constant at
all points in that system.

Bevel gear: A system of toothed wheels which connect shafts that are
at an angle to each other but in the same plane.

Bimetal: Two or more metals, having different coefficients of

expansion, bonded together to form a temperature-sensitive device. A
change in the temperature of a bimetallic strip results in a change
of curvature and this is utilized in electrical indicating
instruments and safety devices.

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 Dictionary of Quarrying Terms

Binder: 1 Bitumen used to cement aggregate particles or to stick

chippings to a road surface. 2 Any cementing agent used for binding
soil or aggregate.

Binder course: The European term for the course immediately below
the surface course in a flexible road construction.

Biotite: A dark-coloured iron-bearing member of the mica group of

rock-forming minerals. It occurs as a constituent of many igneous
and metamorphic rocks.

Bit: 1 A cutting tool which is detachable from the drill rod. 2 The
end of a drill stem that forms the actual cutting edge.

Bitumen: A viscous liquid or solid consisting of hydrocarbons and

their derivatives. It is soluble in carbon disulphide, substantially
non-volatile and softens gradually when heated. It is black or brown
in colour and has waterproof mg and adhesive properties. It is
derived from petroleum or from naturally occurring asphalt.

Bituminous: Containing, or mixtures of, road tar, bitumen or pitch.

Black powder: A low explosive composed of sodium or potassium

nitrate, charcoal and sulphur.

Blake crusher: Double-toggle jaw crusher originally designed in 1858

by E.W. Blake.

Blast: The detonation of explosives to break rock.

Blast area: The area near a blast within the influence of flying
rock missiles or concussion.

Blasthole: A hole drilled in rock or other material for the

placement of explosives.

Blasting agent: A primer sensitive explosive such as ANFO.

Blasting gelatine: A high explosive; the most powerful commercial

explosive, taken as the standard of explosive power.

Blasting ratio: The ratio of the yield of material from a blast to

the weight of explosives used; measured in tonnes/kg.

Bleeding: 1 Separation of water from concrete after compaction when

there is a tendency for the solids to settle and the displaced water
to be pushed to the surface. 2 The occurrence of free bitumen from
an overrich load of coated material in transit or on the road.

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Blinding: 1 The blocking of screen apertures by the agglomeration of

damp fine material, this results in a reduction of the effective
area of the screen. 2 The application of fine material to a surface
to reduce the surface voids or to cover a bituminous binder.

Blow-bars: The replaceable hammers rigidly attached to the rotor of

an impact crusher.

Blown-out shot: A shot which has expended its force outwards from
the line of the shothole without doing any appreciable blasting
work.

Bolted-plate fastener: A type of conveyor belt fastener which

consists basically of pairs of steel plates which are used to clamp
the ends of the belt together. The plates may be in two halves
connected by hinge pins.

Bond’s third theory: A comminution theory concerned with the energy

required to reduce a given size of feed to a required size of
product. On his theory F.C. Bond based an empirical formula which
may be used to compare the efficiencies of crushing plants etc.

Boning rod: A T-shaped staff used with other similar staffs to

furnish a line of sight whereby, from two given points, other points
at the same level or on the same gradient can be established.

Booking: In surveying, the recording of field observations in such a

way that they can be understood, often by someone else, when later
used in the field or office.

Boom: A cantilever structure: 1 attached to lifting or excavating

equipment and at the outer end of which is fixed the pulley over
which the hoist rope passes 2 carrying a conveyor used to feed a
stockpile.

Booster: A unit of explosive or blasting agent used for perpetuating

or intensifying an explosive reaction.

Borehole logging: The determination of physical, electrical and

radioactive properties of the rocks traversed by a borehole.

Borrow pit: Excavation adjacent to major works site to provide

construction materials.

Boss: A circular form of igneous intrusion; a small-scale batholith.

Bottom initiation: see ‘inverse initiation’.

Boulder clay: Glacial clay, generally containing a variety of

boulders or pebbles.

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Bow’s notation: A method of notation for forces acting at a point;

the spaces between the forces within the structure are lettered in
order, so that each force is identified by means of the two letters
in the spaces on either side of it. By this device vector diagrams
can be lettered correspondingly.

Bowl scraper: A load-haul-dump machine in which the bowl is towed

behind a tractor unit, fills by a planing action, hauls the spoil to
the dump site and empties by means of an internal ejector blade
pushing forward. Used in soft ground or in ground that fragments
well after ripping or blasting.

Box cut: The initial opening to establish a working face for open-
pit mining.

Brass: An alloy of copper and zinc, but small amounts of elements

such as aluminium, iron, lead, manganese and nickel are frequently
added to give increased strength and other mechanical properties.
Brasses can be readily machined.

Break point: 1 The instant at which one element in a work cycle ends
and another begins. 2 The point at which a bitumen emulsion moves
out of its aqueous phase as part of its setting process. Usually
accompanied by a change of colour from brown to black.

Breakout force: The force with which an excavator is capable of

pushing its bucket through the rockpile or face.

Breast hole: A horizontal or near-horizontal blasthole used to

create or improve a quarry floor.

Breccia: A rock consisting of broken angular unworn fragments held

together by a natural cement.

Brick paving: A surface composed of bricks laid in a regular pattern

on a prepared roadbase.

Bridge wire: A very fine filament wire embedded in the ignition

element of an electric detonator. An electric current passing
through the wire causes a sudden temperature rise resulting in the
ignition element being ignited.

British Standard: A numbered publication of the British Standards

Institution describing the quality or dimensions of a product, and
methods of testing. By their use in specifications architects and
engineers can reduce the length of their descriptions to a
reference, e.g. BS 4483:1985. Specification for steel fabric for the
reinforcement of concrete.

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Bronze: True bronzes are alloys of copper and tin, but the name is
now applied to other alloys not containing tin, e.g. aluminium
bronze. Various types of bronze are used for springs, bushes,
bearings, valve bodies etc.

Brush: A conductor used to make electrical contact between a

stationary and a moving surface.

Bucket-chain excavator: A continuous-feed machine designed to give a

high output of soft material using a chain of buckets and
essentially designed for digging below grade.

Bucket elevator: A continuous line of buckets attached by pins to

two endless chains running over tracks and driven by sprockets;
alternatively, the buckets are attached to a rubber belt. Used for
raising loose materials or slurries at high angles or vertically.

Bucket-wheel excavator: A continuous-feed machine, usually carried

on crawler tracks, consisting essentially of a large cutting wheel
with buckets mounted on the periphery.

Bucket-ladder dredge: A dredge having buckets moving in a continuous

chain, reaching down into the deposit to be dredged, and lifting it
for discharge into the vessel.

Budgetary control: A costing and cost-control technique by which the

management of a company, having set out to anticipate their volume
of trading and consequent production costs for a given period in the
future, compares actual performance with budget.

Buffer blasting: Face blasting, either against a high unexcavated

rock pile, or using an increased burden (usually 1.5 times or twice
the normal burden).

Bulk density: The density of a material including any voids and

water contained in it.

Bulk mix: A mass of explosive material prepared for use without

packaging.

Bulk strength: The strength of explosive per unit of volume

expressed as a percentage of the value of blasting gelatine or ANFO
as standard.

Bulldog clip: A V-bolt specially designed to clamp a steel-wire rope

doubled back on itself.

Bulldozer: A high-powered caterpillar-mounted tractor fitted with a

concave blade mounted in front of the machine. Used for smoothing

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out irregularities in working areas, levelling the tops of dumps,

clearing spillage etc.

Bund: An earth mound or embankment.

Bunker: A storage bin for stone, coal etc.

Burden: The distance between an explosive charge and the nearest

free face which is a measure of the work to be done by the charge.

Burner: The heater unit used in coating plants for raising the
temperature of aggregate prior to mixing with the bitumen. Fuel may
be gas oil, waste oil, gas or coal.

Bursting time: The total time interval between the application of

current to an instantaneous detonator and its explosion.

Busbar: An equipotential conductor forming a terminal or junction

point in a power system, for the connection of supplies and feeders.

Butt weld: A weld between two pieces of metal without any overlap
between them.

Button bit: A percussive drill bit having tungsten carbide inserts

the hemispherical ends of which protrude from the face of the bit.

Byte: The unit used in describing the memory capacity of a computer

(1 Mbyte = million characters).

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