mine of the month – Glensanda
The granite from the elevated quarry reaches the
stockpile via a 300 m shaft and 1.8 km conveyor
King of quarries
Little known to most in the UK, Scotland’s Glensanda quarry
is one of the largest and most productive in the world
L
ocated in a remote and inaccessible area
of western Scotland lies Glensanda quarry,
producing 7 Mt/y of granite, making it not
only Europe’s biggest single quarry, but
one of the largest in the world. Situated on
a 2,430 hectare site on the banks of Loch Linnhe,
near Oban, Glensanda now has reserves in excess of
800 Mt of granite and ships material to meet the
demands of not only the UK market, but also Europe
and further afield as far as the Americas.
The quarry is a major employer in the region
with a workforce of up to 200. At the heart of the
operation are an innovative quarrying method and
dedicated ship logistics, which combine to minimise
environmental impact and provide a sustainable
alternative to road supplies.
Glensanda is the only coastal superquarry in the
UK, with Lafarge’s Harris project finally consigned to
the history books when the company withdrew its
application in 2004. The quarry, formerly owned by
Foster Yeoman Ltd, is now part of Aggregate
Industries Limited, a member of the Holcim Group,
following Foster’s acquisition in September 2006.
Glensanda is connected to the sea by a 200 m-
deep channel and provides a 24-hour sheltered
berth for vessels with a draught of up to -12.3 m CD.
The granite is exported using bulk vessels called
Yeoman Brook, Yeoman Bank, Yeoman Bridge and
Yeoman Bontrop. At the time of its completion in
2000, the Yeoman Bridge was the world’s largest
self-discharging aggregate carrier, with a capacity
of 97,000 t.
As well as serving the company’s own quarry in
Scotland, the vessels regularly ship gypsum rock
from the south of Spain to the UK, allowing the
development of a back-haul trade in aggregate.
17,19MM0704.indd 17
Other crushed rock is distributed by Aggregate
Industries from sites in Ireland and Scandinavia.
Glensanda aggregate is used mainly for rail ballast
and concreting aggregate (80%) due to its high
hardness, with the remaining 20% largely for road
construction and maintenance.
Production
Granite is mined on the plateau of Meall Mhuic Artair
with conventional large-scale methods, including
drilling and blasting, loading and haulage, and
primary crushing operations, all performed above
the 520 m level. The mining fleet mainly consists of
Caterpillar 777D haul trucks, loaded using Caterpillar
992G wheel loaders. Drilling and blasting is
At the heart of the
operation are an
innovative quarrying
method and dedicated
ship logistics
conducted via two Atlas Copco DM45 Drillmaster
large, rotary-drilling rigs for the main bench work.
A fleet of four Atlas Copco ECM 350 rigs is used for
development work, such as constructing access
ramps and opening up new levels. One of the DM45s
was acquired in 2005 while the other has worked
continuously in the quarry for the past 15 years.
The local Atlas Copco drilling distributor, H&F
Drilling Supplies, delivers all the necessary drill
Continued on page 19
glensanda summary
Production
Circa 7 Mt/y granite for rail ballast, concrete,
roadstone markets, mainly in Europe
History
Opened 1986 by Foster Yeoman Ltd
Planning permission granted 2002 until 2043
Expansion granted 2006
Foster bought by Aggregate Industries 2006
Equipment summary
Drilling: two DM45 Drillmaster (Atlas Copco)
rotary rigs; four ECM 350 (Atlas Copco)
development rigs
Surface mining
Six Caterpillar 777D trucks, one Caterpillar D400
fuel bowser and one Caterpillar 14G grader;
loading with one Liebherr 984C excavator and
two Caterpillar 992G wheel loaders
Crushing
Primary HD 54-80 Nordberg (Metso) gyratory
crusher; secondary Metso Minerals HP800 cone
crusher; tertiary Svedala (Sandvik) H4000, H6000
and H8000 cone crushers
Screening
Siebtechnik – two double-deck scalping screens;
one double-deck final screen; one single-deck
final screen; one single-deck selector screen;
one double-deck washing and final screen;
one single-deck dewatering screen. Two Don
Valley triple-deck final screens
April 2007 Mining Magazine 17
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 mine of the month – Glensanda
The Yeoman Bridge bulk carrier
Continued from page 17
consumables. In the past, both 5 in (127 mm) and 6 in
(152 mm) Secoroc DTH hammers, with 5.5 in and
6.5 in ballistic button bits, were used.
The size of the blasts can vary from about 20,000 t
for a smaller development blast to 250,000 t for a
main bench-production single blast. Usually, there
are two to three blasts per week. The drill pattern
using DM45s is 4.75 by 6.0 m (burden and spacing),
while the corresponding figure for the ECM rigs
is 3.5 by 5 m.
Granite is loaded into a large, primary crusher
that feeds a 300 m-deep, 4 m-diameter, vertical
shaft, known as the ‘Glory Hole’. This enables the
transportation of crushed rock from the plateau at
over 500 m high down to sea level.
The glory hole is met by a 1.8 km horizontal,
tunnel conveyor that carries the crushed rock to a
500,000 t stockpile. The material is then transferred to
the secondary and tertiary crushing and screening
operations, and from there to massive storage bins
where the current foreshore storage facility has
another 430,000 t.
The glory hole provides long-term solutions to
the economic and environmental extraction of this
deposit. The quarry represents a crater, with only
the uppermost benches visible from a distance.
The primary crushing station levels and glory hole
collar are progressively lowered as the deposit is
Two Atlas Copco DM45 Drillmasters are
used for the main bench production
17,19MM0704.indd 19
Two Caterpillar 992G wheel loaders
form the main loading fleet
extracted. The tunnel is a permanent installation for
the life of the project.
The stone is taken through secondary and tertiary
crushing, as well as screening into sizes demanded
by the market. Reclaim, blending and shiploading
facilities are rated at 6,000 t/h throughout, which
means a typical 75,000 t cargo can be loaded at the
harbour in under 24 hours.
Expansion
In 2002, the quarry was granted planning approval
until January 2043 for the current working site. The
output is currently around 7 Mt/y, with consent to
produce up to 15 Mt/y. Planning permission was
granted in 2006 for the extension of the extraction
area itself at Glensanda, mainly to address the
current working situation. The primary crusher is at
the 520 m level, but some of the workings are now
at 440 m, meaning all production has to be hauled
uphill. Some workings are higher, with a major
face-development advance planned for the 520 m
and 540 m levels.
The extension expands the permitted mining area
by 81 hectares to a total of 206 hectares in an easterly
and then south-westerly direction of development.
This has increased reserves figure from 400 Mt to
more than 800 Mt.
The company points to the future projected
production decline of the major hard-rock quarries
in England over the long term, such as Cliffe Hill
(Tarmac and Midland Quarry Products) and
Mountsorrel (Lafarge Aggregates) in Leicestershire.
At present extraction rates, reserves at Glensanda
will last 50 years, but at the expanded production
rates expected to be required to meet future
demand, this would have declined if the additional
reserves had not been added.
Reclamation and restoration
Given the location of the quarry, environmental
aspects, such as the visibility of the pit, as well
as dust, noise and vibration, and the effect on
protected wildlife are all closely monitored. The
quarry management is currently working towards
producing a biodiversity plan for the long-term
future of the area.
The visual impact of the primary crusher building,
glory hole cover and interconnecting conveyor has
been mitigated by the placement alongside of a
bund with an irregular top edge. The exposed rock
side is expected to be seeded on the western side.
With the expansion plans, a number of viewpoints
have been assessed for visual impact, with terrain
modelling used to address the extent of faces –
restored or unrestored – that will be visible. All
visible faces will be restored by covering with peat
and seeding.
April 2007 Mining Magazine 19
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