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Quarrying |
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Since 1970, Jack has worked continuously in the quarrying industry, he has worked at quarries in; Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Congo, Jamaica, Tortola, Antigua, St Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico, Trinidad, St Lucia, Grenada, Tobago, Indonesia, Falkland Islands, United Kingdom, Greece, Spain. Below are a few of the quarries where Jack has worked. |
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The picture on the right shows a blast taking place at Lee Quarry, Bacup, UK in about 1970. The blast used plaster and opencast gelignite all fired instantaneously by detonating cord, one detonator and safety fuse (times have changed a bit since then).
Jack also worked at quarries in Whitworth, Haslingdon, Buckton, Oldham, Huddersfield and Howarth (his own quarry). His last project was in 2008 when he investigated a serious accident at Whitworth. |
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The picture on the left shows the bench at Chilanga Cement Company in Zambia. This company operated several quarries both in Zambia and Malawi of which Jack was the manager.
Although untidy by UK standards it was a vast improvement on what it was like when Jack took over. The limestone was very fractured and difficult to cut cleanly. |
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The quarry shown on the left is “Frying Pan Quarry” located part way between Port Stanley and Mount Pleasant in the Falkland Islands. Jack managed this quarry and several others during a 14 month tour. The rock was loosely described as tillite. It was often very laminated and weak. The smoke at the bottom is not a blow-out but charges firing to break and even out the floor of the quarry.
Jack used this site to destroy munitions that were in the way of the road that he was constructing to Port Stanley. |
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The picture on the right shows the initial development of Woodside quarry in Jamaica. Jack was contracted by the Rugby group to develop this quarry, manage it for three months and then hand it over to a permanent manager.
This excellent quarry closed soon after Rugby was sold to RMC. It is now owned by Cemex and remains closed. |
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The picture on the right shows the initial development and construction of an access road to a quarry face in Montserrat, West Indies. Jack was asked to develop the quarry following a fatal accident to the newly appointed quarry manager.
As you can see, no FOPS, ROPS or any other safety equipment, but also, no accidents. The rock is medium hard andesite. |
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Office tel: + 44 (0) 161 624 2916 E-mail: mining@ntlbusiness.com |
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The picture shows Jack loading holes for a blast.
We used gelignite, slurry, emulsion, C4 and any other explosives that were available.
Each hole was initiated by detonating cord and delayed using relays on the surface.
This technique is now obsolete. |
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Contact Jack
Office tel: + 44 (0) 161 624 2916 Office fax: + 44 (0) 161 627 0594
E-mail: mining@ntlbusiness.com E-mail: jack@miningis.com |
