what type of technique & tools are used to mine jasper effectively,preferably no blasting or heavy machinery.?
when working from the top downward, what do i do or use to split the collumns of jasper along its naturally occuring fracture? Jasper is quite hard and most metal picks, chisels, and hammers are NOT effective.I have heard there is a substance that is inserted into holes that are drilled into the rock that forces it apart by slow expansion..If so, what is it and can i aquire it? If this isnt possible,what is the next most efficient and logical method?
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The substance is wood. You pound a dry wooden wedge into a drilled hole or natural fracture then wet it. The wood swells with tremendous pressure. This method has been used since before recorded history. A faster technique, commonly used today, is wedge and feathering – steel wedges go into drilled holes or natural fractures then steel shims, called “feathers”, are pounded in alongside until the rock cleaves.