Longcliffe’s new beacon of sustainability

Sarah Dines MP officially opens state-of-the-art washing plant at Brassington Moor Quarry

INDEPENDENT, family-owned Longcliffe Quarries have completed their £3.5 million investment in a state-of-the-art washing plant at Brassington Moor Quarry. The new facility will contribute to the company’s ongoing efficiency goals, as well as to its objective of reaching zero-carbon quarrying operations by 2027.

For nearly 100 years, Longcliffe’s Derbyshire quarries have been among the market-leading suppliers of high-purity calcium carbonates. The company produces more than 100 products for a huge range of critical industries, from animal feeds and pet foods to glass and plasterboards, and from plastics and adhesives to pH correction and flue gas desulphurization. Cure activators produced at Longcliffe even found their way into the fluoroelastomer docking seals on the International Space Station.

The new washing plant will enable the transformation of material with a higher clay content, at a rate of 220 tonnes/h, into valuable single-sized aggregates and sand grades. This will allow Longcliffe to recover key products from material that traditionally had to be discarded, maximizing the company’s available reserves and saving 12% of the quarry’s load and haul fuel usage.

Viv Russell, managing director of Longcliffe Quarries, said: ‘This new development strengthens Longcliffe’s position as a champion of sustainability in the quarrying sector. Since 2014/15, on-site energy intensity has fallen by nearly 20%, and with the addition of two wind turbines, Brassington Moor Quarry’s net emissions have fallen by almost 70%.

‘Extensive tree planting and investment in natural capital – notably in the creation of three nature reserves – complement these carbon reductions, ensuring that Longcliffe remain a leading example of good practice in the industry, and continue to be one of the leading employers in the Derbyshire Dales.’

David Kinloch, regional manager for equipment providers CDE, commented: ‘The plant, a fully optimized turnkey solution, will provide Longcliffe with the capacity to utilize available resources to their fullest potential by extracting maximum value from previously disregarded by-product material due to its high clay content. This will facilitate the company’s growth and further strengthen our shared purpose for a sustainable future.’

Sarah Dines, MP for Derbyshire Dales who presided over the official opening of the plant (pictured), said: ‘I was so delighted to have my first ribbon cutting as MP at Longcliffe Quarries. I’m so proud to have such a critical industry so vital to national infrastructure in my constituency and was pleased to be able to open their new plant alongside their hard-working team who made it all happen.’

Business and Energy Secretary Alok Sharma added: 'It’s great to see Longcliffe’s continued investment in decarbonization. New innovations such as these contribute to more sustainable industry and skills creation, both of which are central to the UK’s green recovery as we build back better from the impact of coronavirus. 
 
'The fact that this machinery was produced by CDE in Northern Ireland also illustrates the strong business links between all nations of the UK, and the importance of safeguarding the UK’s Internal Market when we leave the Transition Period at the end of this year.'