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Operated
by Watson Gravel, Inc., and located in Hamilton County, Ohio, the
Kilby Road Plant received the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources 2004
Industrial Minerals Mining Reclamation Award. It also received an
Honorable mention from the Interstate Mining Compact Commission.
The
quality reclamation of more than 400 adjoining acres at the site
provides good land-use by the Hamilton County Park District. The
material mined at the site was used to meet construction demands of
Cincinnati, Ohio, its suburbs, and the tri-state areas of SE
Indiana, SW Ohio, and northern Kentucky.
Sand and
gravel from the site was removed in areas above water using pay
loaders. Gravel was also mined below the water table at a depth of
up to 35-40 feet utilizing draglines and creating a series of lakes.
Eventually a Rhors clamshell dredge was utilized to recover
additional reserves up to a depth of 110 feet below the water table
in the main south lake.
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Processing plant in operation down in a bowl.
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Fines
from the wet portion of the plant were flumed into the western end
of the north lake to create shallow substrate which has encouraged
wetlands species to develop and to assist in fish spawning and
habitat.
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Reclaiming the north pit floor.
Note
the clamshell dredge in both photos. |
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reclamation practices included stripping and storing topsoil and
subsoil in visual/environmental berms along the margin of the permit
to screen the site from the general public. The berms were seeded,
and white pines and red cedars were planted to provide additional
aesthetic and visual screening.
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Reclaimed former plant area in foreground.
Note
natural vegetation and planted red cedars in reclaimed slopes around
lake.
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Photos from Watson Gravel
Inc. and IMCC
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