Stone Crusher Plant Cost

Mathewson purchased the land, which had been actively mined during its pre-WWII years as the source of Old Dutch Cleanser kitchen and bath scrubbing powder. Over 120,000 tons of white, high-quality pumicite had been mined underground. The bentonite occurs as a layer over the pumicite, in places very close to the surface. The exposed edge of the clay overlooks Last Chance Canyon for thousands of feet. The layered beds in this portion of the Ricardo Formation dip twenty degrees northeast and plunge beneath Highway 14 to the north. Mathewson had the pumicite tested for a variety of uses, such as an abrasive, a filler product, a pesticide carrier, and as a Portland cement additive. Investigations performed at the Mineral Research Laboratory, with the assistance of the Materials Testing Laboratory at California State Polytechnic University at Pomona, showed an increase in concrete strength using pumicite, but at an unacceptable cost. Applications for a conditional use and operating permit for surface mining were submitted to Kern County and State of California officials in 1988 and after several revisions were approved in 1989. The Kern County Department of Planning and Development Services issued a Conditional Use Permit containing 46 major conditions required before, during, and after operating on the property. For several years truckload shipments of pumicite were sent to an eastern market, but interest was weak. Meanwhile, the owner, determined to avoid capital expenses for equipment, located a contractor who would perform the necessary stripping and reclamation operations as needed, and truck the raw product to a distant mill for fine grinding. Removed overburden had to be carefully spread to conform to the existing topography and ground surface characteristics. In order to meet landfill specifications another contractor was hired to dry, crush, and screen the bentonite on-site using a portable plant.