Unit 1: Topic 1 - Case Study 1 - Castle Cement Quarry

Question 1

Castle Cement Quarry

WHO? (Owns, works and is affected)

Answer 1

Transnational Corp. called Heidelberg Cement (German)

Used to be owned by a small local company.

120 people are employed in the quarry and cement works. This is only a quarter of what it was from the last few decades due to mechanisation

Article (Ends Report): ‘Scrubber fails to put a stop to Castle Cement odour problems’

ADVANTAGES TO LOCALS

• Economy blooms there as people are employed, which supports nearby shops and services (multiplier effect)
  Resources lasting upto 20 - 35 years and is planned for restoration and extraction.

Question 2

Castle Cement Quarry

WHAT?

Answer 2

• Extraction of limestone and shale
• Lime used for agriculture and bulding stone.
• Crushed for aggregate for road building.
• Limestone foundation = source of clean drinking water.
• 3 trains per week take much of the cement from the site, each taking 40 HGVs off the roads.
• Quarry is below sea level and 1km wide.
• Often flooded and needs to be pumped regularly.
• 100 tonne dumper trucks are used.
• Quarry looks grey because it isn’t pure limestone.
• Quarry is formed as a gallery.

Question 3

Castle Cement Quarry

HOW? (Is it monitored)

Answer 3

Visual Impact (Locals) - Land is ugly but can be covered with 9000 trees.

Noise pollution (Locals) - may disturb locals but can be prevented with small explosions when mining at daytime.

Traffic (General pop) - Block roads which ruin schedules or causes accidents but can be prevented by using trains.

Dust (General pop) - Blocks views and makes area look dirty but can be prevented by scubbing trucks when leaving site.

Atmospheric Pollution (Global) - increases greenhouse effect but be reduced with combustion at high temps and scrubbers in chimney. Monitored strictly.

Question 4

Castle Cement Quarry

WHERE?

Answer 4

Castle Cement Quarry is North of the A59 and Pendle Hill.

It is East of Clitheroe Castle but South of River Ribble.

Grid reference- 75, 43

Question 5

Castle Cement Quarry

WHEN?

Answer 5

Castle cement quarry had been mined since the Roman times and notably the 11th century where the Normans built Clitheroe Castle.

Originally owned by a local business, Castle Cement had been extracting limestone across East Clitheroe since the 1930s.