Environmental Field Course

Just finished my presentation of Masson Hill Super Quarry.This project contributes 55% credit of my Environmental Field Course project( with 2 presentation sessions).

Firstly, location of Masson Hill has to be located and features around have to be justified, especially the distance of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) area. If quarry has to be built on SSSI area, relocation of special plants has to be mitigated. Due to the high composition of limestone in the soil at Masson Hill, the quarry is operating by blasting limestone.


After that, estimation of the size of the quarry has to be done.Number of years taken for limestone operation has to be correctly calculated by finding out the cross-section of the soil. Voidage which contains of basalt and other composition of soil has to be obtained from Matlock city council library.


And finally, the diameter of the quarry which is 500m is found and has to be plotted in a map by using the correct scale. Depth of quarry is 150m from the surface of the land where limestone is supplied for 10 years of normal operation.

Besides that, water table which is 260m above sea level has to be considered as the quarry may be flooded due to high level of water table. So, wells are built in order to pump underground water and water pumped from Masson Hill will flow to existing drainage at Jughole Wood
and new drainage system has to be built from Jughole Wood to Hall Dale Quarry.

Quarry is built by using the glory hole mining quarry. Limestone product is transferred from Masson Hill to Hall Dale Quarry which is abandoned.

A little defination of GLORY HOLE MINING
•A glory hole is an open-cut or pit mine used to reach and mine an ore deposit.
•The ore is extracted from the bottom level via an adit.
•In glory-hole mining, a steep-sided, funnel-shaped surface excavation is connected to tunnels below it.
•Rocks blasted off the sides of the excavation fall into the tunnels, from which they are then removed.
•Mining downward, generally from the surface, although occasionally from an underground chamber, is called shaft sinking.

By using glory hole technique of mining, the visual impact is minimised, especially by viewing from Matlock town. In order to reduce noise impact, PVC deflectors are used along the shaft pipe. Conveyor belts and lorries are used to transfer limestone. Besides that, environmental impacts such as land stability, drainage, visual, road and traffic, airborne and water pollution impacts have to be solved and presented in presentation as well.

But, there are lot of technical problems that my group hasnt sort out such as electricity and water needed in the quarry !! ( This is asked in the questionaire part !!)

Okies, that's the end and I have to continue for my plant design =P