New limestone quarries planned

STINESVILLE, Ind. -- Monroe County's rich limestone deposits have enticed two investor groups that plan to open new quarries this year, and another company also is considering a new stone-mining operation.\nThe developments are planned for about 10 miles northwest of Bloomington.\n"I don't want to coin a phrase, but it's like a renaissance," said Jim Bayne, a Stinesville Town Council member. "We're hoping things will boom a little more than they have lately."\nThe Edgeworth family is testing limestone on a 350-acre property it bought a month ago. The family, which also owns the Victor Oolitic Stone Co. southwest of Bloomington, plans to open the Big Creek Stone Quarry by May or June, Mike Edgeworth told The Herald-Times of Bloomington for a story Monday.\nThe operators expect to employ 25 to 30 people by 2006.\nAnother group of investors recently bought the former Hoosier Calcium Corp. mine. The stone-crushing operation went out of business, and five partners with American Limestone Inc. bought the property at auction in August, partner Ken Pickett said.\nThe company hopes to begin quarry operations within 30 to 45 days, and will hire as many as a dozen employees the first year.\nHanson Aggregates Midwest Inc., based in Louisville, Ky., also has an option agreement with American Limestone to mine aggregate from the site, company President John Lawson said.\nHowever, Hanson is at least six months away from making any decision on the agreement, he said.\nPart of the interest in the site stems from the planned extension of Interstate 69 in the area, Lawson said.\n"In the future, there's the potential for a lot of additional work in that area," he said.