The purpose of this study was to become familiarized with the basalt extraction sector, in Nova Prata, in the northeastern part of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and evaluate the sector's administrative proceedures. The researched area involved 69 of the 110 existing quarries in the area. Collected were secondary data, mainly economical, and primary data, which was obtained in situ regarding the quarries' small familly-owned companies and their environmental impacts.. The mining companies are classified in three groups: 69% are of small tonnage; 20,5% are of medium tonnage and 10% are of large tonnage. Production is obtained basically by hand, using mallets, crowbars and chisels. The production of Basalt in 2004 was about 60.000m³ of refined product such as: pavement stones, flagstones, foundation blocks and so on. A survey of the residues produced in the mining and refining of the basalt showed that there is an estimated annual volume of 52.400 m³, of which only a small volume is recycled and transformed into crushed rock. The remaineder remains on the site, constituting an environmental liablility.
Basalt quarry; solid residuals; waste management
