Day 3: Solite Quarry, Pittsylvania County, VA

Location: Solite Rock Quarry is located on the Virginia/North Carolina border just off of Rte. 863. This is considered part of the Piedmont province. From Danville, we will take 58 west towards Martinsville. We will take a left onto 863 (Berry Hill Road). After about a 12 mile drive we will reach the quarry on the right.

Equipment: As with the previous digs, we will still need hiking boots, old clothes, sunscreen, rock hammers, a tent, and lots of water. We will be working in black shale so we are sure to get hot! A microscope attached to a laptop would prove useful since rare insect fossils are often found at this site.

Schedule:

8:00 Meet in hotel conference room and discuss the day's activities. Answer any questions regarding sedimentary rock,
fossils, and the day's activities at Solite.

8:30 Check out of hotel and load vans.

9:00 Arrive at Solite Rock Quarry.

9:00-10:30        Tour facilities. The tour will include a video describing what the rock quarry manufacture's, what material it uses,
                        and its environmental importance. The bus tour around the quarry will show the quarry itself, the "raw material"
                        extracted from the Earth, the kiln's used to process the rock, and the final product manufactured.

10:30-12:00 Locate area within the quarry suitable for our dig and begin. Again a tent would be useful in helping to keep the
heat down a little.

12:00-1:00 A bag lunch in one of the facilities air-conditioned buildings.

1:00-3:00 Continue dig.

3:00-4:00 Examine specimens found and take any notes. Question/Answer session.

4:00 Load vans and drive to Martinsville, VA for the night. (25 minute drive)

Scientific Significance of Solite Quarry:

Solite Quarry in Pittsylvania County, Virginia is considered by many scientists to be one of the top five fossil sites in the world. Why is it so important? This quarry is the only location in the world from which entire Triassic insects have been preserved and are now being collected. It is the only site in the western hemisphere from which Triassic spiders are being collected. These 220 million year old fossils are a "find" in themselves, however, the detail in which they have been preserved in the sedimentary shale is exquisite! Many of the insects found show wing pattern and venation, antennae, and even hair on the small bodies (with aid of microscope - of course!). The vertebrate fossils found at this location are not only bone, but skin and muscle impressions have been found as well. Finally, plant fossils exhibit entire cones, huge palm-like fronds, and tiny ferns. The detail and diversity of the fossils found at Solite Quarry is what makes this location so unique. In fact, the National Science Foundation has determined the quarry to be so unique that it has awarded the Virginia Museum of Natural History and their team of Paleontologist a three year grant of $229,000 to study the Triassic fossils found at Solite Quarry. (VMNH, 2002) Shown below is the black shale of Solite.

Solite's Environmental Importance:
Solite Quarry has been operated by Solite Corporation since 1947. Since that time Solite Corp. has been striving to find environmentally friendly ways to manufacture their environmentally friendly product. In 1972, Solite Corp. discovered a way to produce their energy efficient lightweight aggregate rock by using industrial waste to fuel their kilns. You probably wonder how the whole process works? Solite quarry is an open pit quarry with two cuts now being visible. (This can be seen in the introductory photo.) The first cut into the Earth is 30 feet and a second cut is 50 feet. Now with a total of 80 feet below the surface, the water table is exposed, thus water is constantly having to be pumped out while workers at Solite collect shale for the kilns. Once the raw shale is collected, it is crushed to gravel and fed into a large rotating kiln that is heated by burning fuel. This fuel is the waste by-product of cosmetic, furniture, pharmaceutical, and textile manufacturing (just to name a few). The kiln reaches 1800-2100 degrees fahrenheit and heats the shale to almost molten material. This heating process causes tiny air cells to be formed throughout the rock, causing it to expand, and form a more lightweight material. The lightweight aggregate that has resulted is then made into lightweight concrete blocks or pumpable concrete. So how has Solite Corp. succeeded in meeting their environmental goals? There are actually three ways: (Solite, 2002)
            1. The lightweight aggregate that exits the kiln produces building material that is more energy efficient. Less energy is required
                  to heat or cool a building built with lightweight aggregate because it has such good insulating qualities. In fact, a concrete
                  block wall made of Solite aggregate conserves more energy in two years than was used to produce the material itself.
            2.   By using ignitable industrial waste from cosmetic, furniture, textile, etc. manufacturer's , Solite helps to solve the
                  problem of how to rid of hazardous waste. (Solite stores this fuel/waste in above ground storage tanks and they run several
                  tests on all incoming "fuel" to comply with strict EPA guidelines.) Shown below are products that produce flammable
                  waste when manufactured.

3. Once Solite Corp. has stopped mining in a certain location, they "reclaim the land" by filling it with soil and planting seeds.

Solite is an important stop on our seven day road trip across Virginia. It not only contains fossils that are a key to our past, it reminds us of ways that we can work to preserve our future.

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