Sleeping giant to wake at Dunbar Works
Lafarge Cement’s Dunbar Quarry in East Lothian, Scotland, is readying itself to move its 1,000tonne overburden transporter half a mile to its new home at the north-east of the quarry as it seeks to begin excavations.
Set to move at about 50m an hour, the bridge transporter is one of only two in the world and helps reduce the environmental impact on the site by allowing Lafarge to both dig and reinstate at the same time – the quarry can never be more than 1,400 metres long at any one time.
Moving the beast, which arrived in 1981 and has recently benefited from a £4million face lift to prepare it for the shift, will take about three days. It has 130m long conveyor and can shift 1,500tonnes of overburden every hour.
Set to move at about 50m an hour, the bridge transporter is one of only two in the world and helps reduce the environmental impact on the site by allowing Lafarge to both dig and reinstate at the same time – the quarry can never be more than 1,400 metres long at any one time.
Moving the beast, which arrived in 1981 and has recently benefited from a £4million face lift to prepare it for the shift, will take about three days. It has 130m long conveyor and can shift 1,500tonnes of overburden every hour.
