Explore the science and business of slate and slate quarrying in one authoritative guide.
This edition blends solid geological detail with practical quarrying knowledge, helping professionals, students, and business owners understand how slate forms, how it cleaves, and how quarries are opened, worked, and managed for profit.
With clear explanations and carefully compiled data, the book bridges theory and practice. It aims to be a lasting reference for engineers, quarry owners, managers, and others who play a part in turning slate from rock to marketable product.
- Foundational geology: groups of strata, mineral composition, and the nature of slate rocks.
- Cleavage and structure: how slate breaks, bends, and responds to geological forces, with historical theories and observations.
- Quarrying practice: open and underground operations, opening methods, costs, equipment, and layout plans.
- Industry economics: leases, prices, production figures, and measures to place slate quarrying on a sound scientific basis.
Ideal for readers of engineering history, mineral geology, and practical quarry management seeking a classic reference on slate and its quarrying trade.