Crushed Stone
Crushed stone or aggregate can be any type of rock mechanically broken into smaller fragments. Crushed stone is an essential component for today’s construction industry. It is predominantly used in road construction and maintenance as fill, roadbed material, and in concrete and asphalt for road surfaces.
In Virginia, limestone, dolostone, sandstone, quartzite, granite, gneiss, basalt, greenstone, aplite, slate, and marble are all quarried for use as crushed stone. Some of Virginia’s limestone production is also processed for making cement and lime. Mine safety dust is also produced from limestone quarried in southwest Virginia. This dust is applied to the roof, walls and floor of coal mines to prevent explosions and to improve general visibility within the mines.
In 2003, approximately 75 million tons of crushed stone were produced at a value of $479 million dollars, ranking Virginia 10th in United States for crushed stone production (Tepordei, 2004). Crushed stone production and price have remained fairly steady over the past five years.
Crushed stone production and value, 1986-2003.
Selected References:
Gilmer, A. K., Enomoto, C. B., Lovett, J. A., and Spears, D. B., 2005, Mineral and fossil fuel production in Virginia (1999-2003): Virginia Division of Mineral Resources Open-File Report 05-04, 77 p.
Tepordei, Valentin V., 2004, Stone, Crushed: U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Commodity Summaries, p. 156-157.
Virginia Division of Mineral Resources, 1993, Geologic Map of Virginia: Virginia Division of Mineral Resources, scale 1:500,000.
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