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Depleted Mines Have Positive Impact On Their Immediate Communities

To give you an idea of how expansive a depleted mine is, it will take the crew at the Bellwood Quarry 7 weeks to scale their way all the way around it, making sure that loose rock falls before the real construction begins. This is just the first step in turning the old mine into Atlanta’s largest park and reservoir that will hold more than a billion gallons of the city’s emergency back-up water supply. Later this summer, 70 trucks will transport a custom-built tunnel boring machine to Atlanta, which will dig a tunnel 5 miles long and 12.5′ in diameter under Marietta Street and under Howell Mill Road for water to travel through from the water treatment plant.

Listen to the full story HERE

Drone Technology Increases Productivity and Accuracy for Hedrick Industries

Hedrick Industries recently adopted the drone method for taking stock pile inventory. In the past, inventory was done manually: an employee walks the pile with a GPS device and takes a hundred or so points to measure the volume of the pile. This process was time-consuming, cumbersome, and less precise than the drone measurements. As the drone flies over the pile, surveying the area, it takes thousands of points, meaning volume measurements are more accurate.

In addition to realizing the immediate benefits of improved stockpile measurement and safety, the drone also has the ability to take some awesome pictures! See below!

Zero Waste by 2020

I read a book recently, Let My People Go Surfing, by Yvon Chouinard, founder and owner of Patagonia, about their businesses humble beginnings and principles that led them through tremendous business growth. From their financial philosophies and product design values to their workplace culture and environmental impact statement, Chouinard sets the stage for good business practices that can be applied to different industries, big or small.

In his “Environmental Philosophies” chapter he says, “One of the hardest things for a business to do is to investigate the environmental effects of its most successful product and, if it’s bad, to change it.” One thing about business is that it is always evolving and there are always ways to operate more efficiently and effectively as our market and environmental change.

Like any business, the waste that our quarries generate cost us money to discard and has a huge impact on the environment. When we send our trash to the landfill, it increases the amount of land needed to store waste, thus encroaching more and more on natural habitats and potentially leaching toxins into our soils and waterways. Waste that goes to the landfill, that could otherwise be reused or recycled, increases the demand to manufacture new products, which in and of itself can have negative implications on the environment.

A future without waste is a necessity. That is why Hedrick Industries is working towards zero waste operations in the next five years. We produce waste that could be recycled in our offices, and around the plant shops and operations. Paper, aluminum cans, plastic bottles, ink cartridges, tires, batteries, conveyor belts, cardboard, and scrap steel may all have recyclable potential if sorted and collected properly.

We are encouraging our employees to take small steps to go a long way in waste reduction! Instead of using Styro-foam cups for beverages, which are used once and then tossed in the waste receptacle, we are bringing reusable coffee mug or glass from home. Instead of buying plastic water bottles and throwing each empty one away, plastic bottles can be refilled from the water fountain to extend its life and keep it out of the landfill. As we develop our plan for better environmental action, we are going to put the right measures in place to properly sort and collect recyclable materials that what would otherwise be waste.

Rainbow over Grove Stone & Sand Company

Somewhere over the rainbow.. there is a rock pile!

Best Land Use Practices and Lake Norman Quarry Farm

Common to all aggregate mining locations is minable land, typically large tracts of it. All operations consist of a “quarry,” where the blasting, drilling, and material removal takes place. There is also land reserved for property line and waterway setbacks required by NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Land Quality. This land is typically referred to as “buffer.”

Then there is property for beautification and reclamation areas. In fact, within the last decade, quarries across the country have won numerous Environmental Stewardship Awards that have started trends with positive land use approaches. As a commitment to environmental sustainability, for instance, Hedrick Industries’ operations are building and maintaining wildlife areas on the property surrounding the quarry.

Lake Norman Quarry – a granite quarry that serves Lincoln, Gaston, Iredell and Mecklenburg Counties – has taken land use one step further. In effort to achieve best land use practices, Lake Norman Quarry built what they are calling “Lake Norman Farm.” Directly across from the scale-house office, Lake Norman employees have constructed a storage barn and built an open shed as shelter for the farm’s inhabitants: Norman and Sandy (the donkeys), 2 goats (to be named later), and 3 sheep (also to be named later). See the pictures below. The animals provide excellent company on the property and also assist in keeping the grass mowed. We are still working on getting them fitted for their customized hard hats!