Project Statistics: Area ~ 13,000 m2, Volume of material moved ~ 14,360 m3
The Ntakos pit was situated at the rear of a recently constructed rural estate southwest of Cookstown. This very large horseshoe shaped pit with a shear 12m face posed a unique challenge in that it was bounded by an agricultural field on the west and an established emergent woodlot on the east. As the landowner wanted neither of these disturbed, the only option for creating a safe stable slope was to start grading from the north, 120m back from the top of the pit face. The material available was primarily clay with only a thin layer of topsoil and several piles of stockpiled organic soils. The plan called for an initial grade of 15:1 that gradually steepened to a still fairly gentle 10:1 grade. The available topsoil was spread evenly across the finished grade and then hydroseeded with a hardy seed mix of grasses and clovers with fertilizer.