Ivan Tomašić

Potential of Medium to More Fractured Natural Stone Deposits

Exploitation and processing of small stone blocks and tombolons has a major impact on profitability. It is pointed out that the natural stone needs to be rationally used in deposits. Resources of rock mass tend to be greatly increased due to the utilization of different sizes of blocks in deposits or quarries. This approach encourages the application of Laskys relationship in the deposits of natural stone and quarries. Based on this relationship we can simply say that if the sizes of stone blocks and other stone products decrease arithmetically, then reserves increase geometrically or exponentially. On the presented examples, the utilization of the rock mass was analysed by the application of two different technologies of exploitation. Besides, if the exploitation of stone blocks of different sizes achieves high utilization of the rock mass, then exploitation of aggregates and fillers increases much more. It is necessary to emphasize the existence of the border area based on favourable discontinuity density and spatial discontinuity position. Decision should be made whether to apply I or II variant of the exploitation (making vertical and horizontal cuttings or separation of the blocks along natural discontinuities, or using slanting cuts). The example is shown and analysed as a two-dimensional problem.