All we do is crush naturally occurring limestone rock that is then put into products that millions of people use everyday.
These products include:
glass for windows, food and drink containers
animal feeds which help to produce eggs, milk and meat products
asphalt roofing shingles to keep homes dry
products that reduce pollution from electrical power plants
soil amendments that help California farmers grow their crops
BLASTING Blasting at Blue Mountain Minerals takes place about once a week, usually in the morning. The licensed blaster uses an ammonium nitrate fuel oil (ANFO) blasting agent to break up about 20,000 tons of rock at one time. Safety and reducing vibrations are of utmost concern.
LOADING Loader operators scoop up the broken rock in their loader buckets, and load it into haul trucks to transport to the primary crusher. The loader buckets can hold 17 tons, and it takes four or five buckets to fill a haul truck.
GEOLOGY Geologists study the rock formations. Their duties include sampling, mapping, surveying, and compiling data to determine where and when to mine. An important part of their job is to determine how many tons of reserves are left in the ground to mine.
DRILLING Drillers run the equipment that drills holes in the solid rock in preparation for blasting. Generally, the 45-foot deep holes are drilled about 16 feet apart, and are six and one half inches in diameter.
HAUL TRUCKS The Caterpillar 777 haul trucks used in the mine can carry 85 tons of rock at one time. The tires are 10 feet tall, and the operators have a good view from about 15 feet above the ground for their short trips to and from the pit.
CRUSHING A series of crushers reduces the size of the limestone rocks from boulders up to the size of a desk to less than 1/16 of an inch. Plant operators run the crushers, and a maintenance crew performs the upkeep and repair on the equipment.
CONVEYING Rubber conveyor belts transfer the crushed rock from one piece of equipment to another. Dust collectors are installed to vacuum up dust that tries to escape, in order to reduce air emissions.
SCREENING After the rock is crushed, it is separated by size by vibrating wire screens. The first screen in the plant after the crushed rock is washed is a triple deck, de-watering screen.
LOADOUT FACILITIES Most of our products are stored in tall silos, to be loaded into highway trucks with enclosed trailers to keep the material dry. The highway trucks, which are not owned or operated by Blue Mountain Minerals, deliver the products to our customers.
LABORATORY In the laboratory, the rock is analyzed by an x-ray fluorescence machine to determine the quantities of certain elements such as calcium, magnesium, and iron. With this machine, we don’t need to keep or use any chemicals in the lab. Sieve analyses are also performed to quantify the size distribution of the finished products.
FINISHED PRODUCTS Our finished products we call grit, sand, and flour. No chemicals are added or used in the processing of the rock; it’s just natural rock, crushed and separated by size.
THE BLUE MOUNTAIN TEAM This isn’t all we do, but it covers a lot. In addition, we have experienced teams who repair broken and build new equipment. We also do environmental monitoring and reclamation, watering of the roads to prevent dust, run the office, and give tours to local schools and organizations.
Limestone Uses & Products
THE BLUE MOUNTAIN TEAM
