Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/841719
AGGREGATES MANAGER / July 2017 15 PLANT PROFILE ranging from 12-inch to 30-inch-plus rock. All the 9-inch minus is conveyed into a pile. Rather than haul it all the way up to the processing plant, a loader picks it up and puts it into a portable crusher/screener unit next to the trom- mel, which crushes the material into 1 1/2-inch base material and stockpiles it. The material is then transported to the front for customer sales. "This is a four-man operation," Barks notes. "One employee is breaking rock, one is feeding the trommel, one is feeding the portable plant, and one is on the ground to keep an eye on things and take care of clean up, making sure there are no problems that arise during the production shift. It's a very efficient operation." Approximately 30 to 40 percent of all the finished product is shipped out by rail. There are four different spurs that can hold rail cars in the quarry. Richards Spur has its own locomotive, so it will pull up 12 to 15 rail cars at a time, have loaders fill them with product, and then push them back to a different spur near the front entrance to await shipping. The rest of the material is shipped out by truck. Customer trucks are lined up on the highway in the morning when sales start at 5 a.m. Loaders fill the customer trucks, and they make their way to the scale house for weigh out and to receive their tickets. Community outreach In the past, like with most quarries, Richards Spur was content to be out of sight and out of mind when it came to the community. The quarry was always there to help if there was a need, but preferred to go unnoticed. Now, howev- er, it's beginning to embrace the idea of being seen. "Our new CEO, Mark Helm, decided that we need to be more proactive," says Kermit Frank, director of communication and community relations for Dolese. "The fact is, we've been doing a lot for the community, and have been doing so for over 100 years, we just didn't tell anybody about it." A new overlook was recently completed at Richards Spur that will en- able the quarry to invite the community in to get a close look at the operation. The overlook hangs out over the pit, providing a great view of the colorful rock formations and plant operations. "You can see everything that goes on from the overlook's central location," Barks says. "You can see the quarry loaders loading trucks. You can see the trucks going to the primary crusher. You can see the rock as it comes all the way through the plant and works around behind you. It's a great central location to bring someone who maybe doesn't know a lot about crushing and what we do." Richards Spur ships 30 to 40 percent of its finished product by rail. It has its own locomotive, which pulls up 12 to 15 rail cars at a time for loading and then pushes them back to a spur near the front entrance to await shipping. With assistance from the 30th Air Defense Artillery group at nearby Fort Sill, Richards Spur Quarry hosted its very first quarry run on April 1, and plans are already being made for another one in 2018. Photo courtesy of Richards Spur Quarry.