Quarrying is the process of removing rock, sand, gravel or minerals from the ground.
Quarrying happens at or near the surface of the earth.
The materials extracted are used by the construction industry to build roads and buildings.
Environmental Impact
Large amounts of dust are created, which can cause air pollution.
Quarrying can also be a very noisy process, from the actual breaking of the rock to trucks coming and going, resulting in noise pollution for those living close to a quarry.
Economic Impact
Quarrying has an important impact on the Irish economy.
There are around 10,000 people employed in quarrying in Ireland.
Irish quarries produce around 35 million tonnes of produce yearly.
Quarrying and mining in Ireland brings in over €1 billion for the Irish economy.
