List of Quarries in Florida
Here at DeFeo Materials, we source the best Florida quarries for the highest quality stone and bring it all together to offer you a wide range of stone types, shapes, and colors. When you see beautiful decorative river rock in a landscape you may not be thinking of how this stone was discovered, blasted, and transported. These quarries are where that all begins.
Table on Contents
What Are Quarries and What Do They Do?
What Are the Most Common Materials Found in Florida Quarries?
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Our List
DeFeo Materials is not associated with any of the following quarries
Martin Marietta
A member of the S&P 500 Index, Martin Marietta is an American-based company that supplies a range of building materials such as aggregates, cement, ready mixed concrete, and asphalt. Through a network of operations spanning 28 states including Florida, Martin Marietta teams supply the necessary resources for building solid foundations. Additionally, Martin Marietta's Magnesia Specialties business produces high-purity magnesia and dolomitic lime products used worldwide in environmental, industrial, agricultural and specialty applications.
Couch Aggregates, LLC
Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, Couch has a rich heritage dating back to 1908. In 2020, Couch became a part of the Green Rock Family of companies. Geographically, Couch was a perfect fit with its operations in Alabama and Florida. Couch produces sand, gravel, limestone, and crushed concrete from its locations in northwest Florida i.e., Panama City and Walton County (Mossy Head). They supply materials for a wide variety of markets including ready mix and asphalt producers, general contractors, landscapers, masons, golf courses, and grading contractors. All their aggregates meet ALDOT and FDOT specifications.
CEMEX
CEMEX is a global building material company that provides high quality products and reliable services. Its U.S. network includes 10 cement plants, nearly 50 cement terminals, about 50 aggregate quarries, and more than 280 ready-mix concrete plants. CEMEX USA has been repeatedly recognized for its efforts in sustainability and energy management, including earning U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. CEMEX offers a wide range of aggregate materials for concrete. Aggregates are key in the manufacture of concrete, mortar, and other construction materials, and are used in the construction and maintenance of structures such as highways, walkways, parking lots, airport runways and railways. CEMEX do their best to provide integrated building solutions from major cities to small, less-affluent communities.
Dixie Lime and Stone Company
Established in 1917, Dixie Lime and Stone company has supplied the Central Florida market with limestone material for over 100 years. As of 2004, the Sumterville operation had become the 9th largest producer of construction aggregates in the state. In 2012, the company was acquired by Bedrock Resources, and continued independent operations as a wholly owned subsidiary. Currently, this operation provides crushed limestone material for road base applications as well as high-quality, energy-grade calcium carbonate material for coal burning power plants.
Vulcan Materials Company
Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, Vulcan Materials Company is an international producer, supplier, and distributor of construction materials. Vulcan has over 400 active aggregates facilities, and 70 asphalt facilities, and 240 concrete facilities. It is the nation’s largest producer of construction aggregates - primarily crushed stone, sand, and gravel - and a major producer of aggregates-based construction materials including asphalt and ready-mixed concrete. These construction aggregates are used for building bridges, parking lots, roads, airport runways, houses, apartments, schools, commercial buildings and more.
Central State Aggregates
Central State Aggregates is a local producer of FDOT approved crushed limestone products serving the construction industry in South Central Florida. They carry a full line of clean stone sizes as well as road base products. They are well positioned to meet the expanding needs of South-Central Florida.
What Are Quarries and What Do They Do?
A quarry is a type of mine that is used to extract stones and such that will be repurposed into building materials. Quarries belong to a group of mines called open pit mines. The reasoning for this name resides in the fact that these mines are open to Earth’s surface. Quarries in Florida are no different than your average quarry. They exist to dig up any stone-related material that would commonly be used in construction.
What is the Most Common Material Found in Florida Quarries?
Florida has an abundant history of quarrying and is home to many quarries. The geological landscape of Florida is quite diverse which makes it a prime location for quarrying. Florida does produce one of the most extensive amounts of limestone in the United States.
Limestone is a sedimentary rock formed from the accumulation of calcium carbonate. It’s typically found in areas covered by shallow water for long periods of time. You’ll find it along coasts, where it can be mined for use as building materials or crushed into aggregate for use in concrete mixes. Limestone is commonly used for construction, and it has uses such as building roads and bridges, cement, and even agricultural fertilizer!
The use of limestone in Florida is relatively high. In fact, Florida is the third-largest producer of limestone in the nation. The start of limestone mining in Florida dates all the way back to 1672. During the First Spanish period, the first construction began in St. Augustine. Since then, several quarries have been found and mined in Florida. The Lake Belt region in Miami-Dade County has the best quality limestone in Florida. The Miami-Dade limestone sector provides over 14,000 jobs and a payroll of around $550 million.
What are Sand and Gravel Quarries?
Sand and gravel quarries are just quarries that are used to extract sand and gravel from the Earth. Instead of pulling full rocks, or other natural building materials, more loose materials are pulled, like sand and gravel. Other things like sand and gravel that are pulled from these quarries in Florida are common fill, crushed stone, topsoil, and washed sand. These all vary in value and aesthetic, but each of them has a place in the Florida construction and landscaping industry as a go-to material. Some of them are quite easy to find and acquire. Things like common fill, sand, and topsoil are common and easy to come by. As far as the application of these loose materials goes, the possibilities are almost endless. Whether it’s a large-scale project for a company building some large building, or working over a large area of land, or it’s for a suburban house looking for a new driveway, loose materials like these are very helpful in many situations. It’s their versatility that keeps them in demand always.
What Comes from Florida Stone Quarries?
Coquina, fossil, and coral stones are what’s commonly found in Florida stone quarries. Coquina stone, known as Florida’s Native Stone, contains fragments of shell and sand which protrude from the surface. Raw coquina stone from a quarry resembles a clump of sand tightly packed with tiny shells and larger shell fragments. The only known quarries for these stones are in Florida. Fossil stone primarily contains the imprint of various fossilized remains. Fossil stones are more spread out and not as tightly clumped as coquina stones. Natural coral stones are harvested from dormant coral reefs and contain the designs and textures of living coral. All these stones offer rich textures and unique visual appeal when used in architecture.
The History of Quarries in Florida
In 1992, the Florida Legislature passed legislation creating and establishing the Northwest Dade Freshwater Lake Plan Implementation Committee (also known as the Lake Belt Committee). The legislature directed the Lake Belt Committee to undertake the Lake Belt Project. The Lake Belt area consists of an approximately 89 square-mile area located in northwest Miami-Dade County. It is located within one of the most environmentally sensitive areas of the state and provides half of the limestone mining resources used in the state every year. Through the Lake Belt Project, the committee was to formulate a blueprint for this region and one of the goals of this plan was to maximize efficient limestone recovery while reviving and restoring the land.
By rehabilitating the quarry lands, the lands could be transformed into a usable habitat. Rehabilitation involved restoring a natural grade to the mining area and providing suitable topsoil for native vegetation to propagate, so the quarry developed into a healthy ecosystem. This would help determine the viability of quarrying operations.
South Florida is home to some of the most important limestone operations in the United States, generating thousands of jobs and billions of dollars for the regional economy. Since 1999, the limestone products industry has contributed over $126 million to protect, preserve, and restore the Florida Everglades as part of the Lake Belt Plan.
Limestone operations have funded the acquisition and restoration of over 12,000 acres of wetlands while also contributing to the safeguarding of Miami-Dade County’s water supply. Limestone operations have, also, created valuable ecosystems near local wells. Limestone quarries also serve as vital water storage for the South Florida Water Management District’s Everglades Restoration Plan.
Order Quarry Direct from DeFeo Materials
DeFeo Materials provides a number of services related to hauling and trucking in Florida. Every deal that comes into our lap is handled with precision and professionalism. When it comes to quarries and material delivery, we provide multiple services. We can take resources and building materials and haul them straight to wherever you may need them. Whether that be to a plant, directly to a jobsite that is being worked on, or to someone who just ordered a large supply of resources. Is your landscape supply yard located on a railway? DeFeo Materials is now offering direct rail service for your supply yard! We currently serve customers across the South and southeast and are looking to expand even further. If you are interested in expanding your product line contact our experts today. Contact DeFeo Materials, and we’ll get the job done right.