Indagini finalizzate all'ampliamento di un'attività estrattiva a cielo aperto in prossimità di un’area sensibile e densamente popolata. = Investigations to expand open-pit quarrying activity in the vicinity of a sensitive and densely populated area.

Cement production is based on limestone quarrying, which is mainly realized through the application of the drill and blast technique. Blasting is the most common and cheapest solution in open pit quarrying, but can cause adverse effects as vibrations, fly rocks, air overpressure and dust. In Italy, open pit excavation sites are frequently found near residential and industrial areas. For this reason, the environmental effects caused by the application of the drill and blast technique must be limited and controlled. Monitoring is based on scaled distance laws, which are expressed as the relationship between the charge per delay and the distance between the monitoring point and the blast area. The reference standard in Italy is the German norm DIN 4150 – 3, that subdivides buildings in three different classes according to waves frequency: sensible, residential and industrial. Changing the blast scheme can be a solution in order to reduce adverse effects. Mechanical excavation, for example hydraulic crawler excavator, surface miner, hydraulic impact hammer and cutting head, can be a valid alternative to the drill and blast technique. The aim of this work is to suggest some solutions that can be applied on a limestone quarry in Northern Italy in order to mitigate vibrations and air overpressure. All the proposals consider the current organization of the site and, in order to choose the most suitable machines, RMR classification’s results, uniaxial compressive strength tests and geological and geomechanical characterization are also taken into account.