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Session Overview
Session
Technical visit. Technical visit to the Mt. Coto limestone quarry in Pinoso (Alicante) and an ornamental stone factory in Novelda (Alicante)
Time:
Friday, 19/July/2024:
7:30am - 5:30pm

Location: Field trip - Monte Coto Quarry & ornamental stone factory

Pinoso & Novelda (Alicante)
Session Topics:
Excursions / technical visits

Guides for the excursion: Emilio Trigueros, Salvador Ordóñez, David Benavente, Manuel Cánovas, Antonio Pérez & José Luis Pastor

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Presentations

Monte Coto Ornamental Limestone Quarry in Pinoso (Alicante, SE Spain): Geological, geotechnical and exploitation aspects

Emilio Trigueros1, Salvador Ordóñez2, David Benavente2, Manuel Cánovas3, Antonio Pérez4, José Luis Pastor5, Roberto Tomás5

1Departamento de Ingeniería Minera y Civil. Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Spain; 2Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra y del Medio Ambiente. Universidad de Alicante, Spain; 3Departamento de Ingeniería Metalúrgica y Minera. Universidad Catolica del Norte, Chile; 4Departamento de geología e investigación. Levantina de Recursos Mineros S.A.U., Spain; 5Departamento de Ingeniería Civil. Universidad de Alicante, Spain

Monte Coto (Pinoso, Alicante, SE Spain) represents one of the largest ornamental quarries in Europe. The existing exploitation is characterized by its significant deposit of fossiliferous limestone belonging to the Paleogene of the Internal Prebetic subdomain. The exploited ornamental rock layer, exhibiting an average thickness of 130 m and a dip angle of approximately 60°, is part of the flank of a anticlinal fold. This rock formation primarily comprises light-toned limestones that originated in a reef environment. The textures of the exploited stone are characterized by the presence of foraminifera within the calcareous matrix, leading to the identification of up to eight different stone varieties exhibiting distinct qualities. The rock mass of the exploitation front is remarkably compact and its behavior is predominantly governed by the prevailing structure of joints and fractures. Consequently, the extraction process has been carefully adapted to the orientation of the discontinuities in order to avoid the occurrence of instabilities such as planar or wedge failures. Despite the inherent uniaxial compressive strength of the rock (average values of 80 MPa), in those slopes exceeding 300 m in height, the foot of the slope exhibits a plastic behavior due to the loss of confinement. Furthermore, the excavation operations have extended below the level of the mountain's base, leading to the existence of a counter slope featuring materials from the top of the geological sequence, including marly limestones interbedded with layers of marls and clays. The full geological sequence of the open pit mine can also be observed on the lateral slopes of the quarry. The exploitation of Monte Coto began in the 1980s with operations in up to 30 small quarries which were later consolidated, allowing them to incorporate new technologies. The higher production rates have been concentrated in the area exploited by the Levantina company. Nowadays, the management of the quarry is characterized by the employment of state-of-the-art mining techniques, encompassing exploitation planning through comprehensive surveys and 3D geological modeling. To facilitate the extraction process, large-scale machinery weighing more than 50 t, is utilized for the loading and transportation of materials. Moreover, the organization of production fronts permits the annual extraction of 200,000 m3 of natural stone, depending on market dynamics, 800,000 m3 of processed by-products serving as aggregates, and an additional 800,000 m3 of earth, which is accumulated in more than 100 m height waste dumps.



 
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