Open House scheduled for Rosemary's Mountain quarry this Saturday

A closely-scrutinized granite mine at Fallbrook’s southeast corner will be open for public scrutiny and questions for three hours on Saturday (Oct. 23).

Granite Construction Co. will showcase its Rosemary’s Mountain surface mine from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m on Saturday. The event is the latest in a string of efforts aimed at easing nose, health, traffic and other concerns surrounding a 94-acre site in northern San Diego County. The mine is located on the north side of Highway 76 just east of Interstate 15. The Watsonville-based company also operates a mine in Indio and hopes to win permission for the proposed Liberty Quarry, which would anchor a rock-strewn bluff west of I-15 between Temecula and Rainbow.

The Rosemary’s Mountain mine was in the planning process for more than two decades before it received final approval from San Diego County supervisors in 1997. The mine received its operations permit in 2002 and excavation work began two years ago.

Plans call for Granite to mine aggregate and other sand and rock materials from a 38-acre portion of the Rosemary’s Mountain site over a 20-year period. The mine is expected to produce about 1 million tons of material a year when demand increases and it is fully operational, according to a report done for Granite by EnviroMine Inc. of San Diego. Granite officials will guide visitors around the mine site and answer questions on Saturday. Refreshments and children’s activities will be available.

Call (951) 304-9283 or e-mail Nelly Menjivar at [email protected] for more information on the event.