b'AggregatesAGGDREEPAGRATTMESE N10T1101 R E M I RP A Are you new to the industry? Or maybe youve only recently heard about aggregate and Ontario pits and quarries! Heres a quick rundown of what aggregate is, where it comes from, and how it impacts the life of every Ontarian. WHAT IS AGGREGATE?Aggregate is the technical name for stone, sand and gravel used in construction. It is in the buildings we live and work in. Its the roads and sidewalks we drive and walk on. It plays a vital role in the water purification process and can even be found as filler in paper and some pharmaceuticals.When you think about it, aggregate is quite literally the foundation of our economy and society, which is a very impressive accomplishment for something as small as a grain of sand.WHERE DOES KEEPING IT CLOSE TO HOMEAGGREGATE Whyaremostpitsandquarrieslocatednearpopulated COME FROM? areas? Why cant they be relegated to sparsely populated landsinNorthernOntario,forexample?Isntaggregate Aggregate is surface-mined in pits and quarriesplentiful in the north?across Ontario. The further away the aggregate source is from its end-use, the Quarries are large, naturally occurring depositsgreater the economic, environmental and social impact.of rocklike granite, limestone and sandstoneSixty per cent of the cost of aggregate is in transportation. As usedinbuildingmaterials.Whilethetermwell, if every load of aggregate used in Ontario had to travel mining is used to describe the process of rockone extra kilometre to reach the job site, an extra 2.5 million extraction, and generally conjures up images oflitres of fossil fuel would be consumed annually, and annual tunnels stretching deep into the earth, quarriesgreenhouse gas emissions would increase by 6,907 tonnes.are actually located at the surface. In fact, theyIt makes environmental and economic sense to locate quarries rarely reach a depth greater than 100 feet. and pits close to where the aggregate will be used. Pits are located in areas where glaciers left behind clean deposits of sand and stone. Sometimes the gravel is deeper than the groundwater table and the gravel is extracted, leaving behind clean ponds and lakes.Like petroleum deposits and other types of minerals, aggregates are only found in places where nature put them. Planning around aggregates is a challenge as operations have to be located where the resource is (unlike other types of land uses such as industrial and residential areas, which have much more flexibility).FALL 2021AVENUES 33'