A review of alternatives to drilling and blasting for primary extraction in quarries

To rip, or not to rip?

Caterpillar says its rippers can be used to rip rock with a high degree of stratification; frequent planes of weaknesses (fractures, faults and laminations); weathering, such as moisture permeated formations; brittleness; low compressive and tensile strength, and low field seismic velocity. These are the first factors to evaluate in deciding whether ripping is, or is not, possible in a quarry. In m..