The Education Experience

•  The Mining Cycle

Exhibited by Memphis Stone & Gravel Company

A five part “Mining Cycle” brings our natural resources from initial discovery to the market place and returns the land for other productive use. These five parts include: exploration, planning, mining, processing, and reclamation. Construction aggregate is a high weight, high volume commodity, which trades at a relatively low unit cost. Proximity to market and efficient management is critical due to the high transportation costs. According to US Geological Survey estimates, per capita consumption of aggregate exceeds ten tons per year. It is projected that we will require as much aggregate in the next twenty-five years as we have used the previous century. Memphis Stone and Gravel Company is well positioned to meet this demand, but aggregate availability will be challenged by competing land uses, regulatory approvals, and the geological characteristics in the area. Often aggregate mining is faced with community opposition with concerns about environmental impacts, effects on property values, and increased traffic. But given the opportunity Memphis Stone and Gravel Company can demonstrate that the modern mining cycle does not require a community to accept aggregate development at the expense environmental protection and quality of life.​

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• North Mississippi Gem & Mineral Society

• Central Arkansas Gem, Mineral, and Geological Society

• Flint Knapping (arrowhead making) and Native American Pottery

• Rock Food Table, presented by MAGS

• Leo Koulogianes Agates - Memorial

• Exploring Geology -  A Rock and Mineral Identification Display, presented by Mike Baldwin

• Nonconnah Conservancy

• Touch Me Tables

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Expected back this year will include a great assortment of earth science exhibits provided by local colleges and government agencies:

• Delta State University- Looper Collection

• University of Mississippi Geology Department

• Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park