Celebrating 20 years of mining

At Albion Stone, we are proud to be celebrating 20 years since we began underground mining on Portland.

We were the first masonry company on the island to extract Portland Stone through mining techniques. Along the way, we have had to overcome some huge technical challenges including the obtaining of planning permissions, the development of a safe and sustainable mining method and the sourcing of suitable mining equipment.

The transition from open quarrying to underground mining has cost Albion Stone approximately £5m. These costs have been exacerbated because since the beginning, we have been right at the cutting-edge, in terms of developing our mines. Since we began mining, we have worked closely with specialist machine manufacturers such as Fantini and Epiroc to obtain bespoke equipment that is as safe, suitable and as productive as possible for our application. 

Wherever it is practicable, our machines are electrically powered. All electricity supplied to Albion stone comes from renewable sources. As a responsible company, we work hard to ensure that the carbon footprint from all aspects of our operations is constantly minimised.

The move from traditional opencast quarrying to underground mining has also yielded many environmental benefits for those living close by. Most of what we do is now invisible from the outside and potential impacts from issues such as noise and dust have been virtually eliminated for our neighbours.   

Being successful at mining was vital for the future of Albion Stone. Mining has enabled us to secure vast, and otherwise inaccessible, reserves of Portland Stone for many coming decades. Thus, ensuring that this nationally important building material continues to be available for both new projects, and for the restoration and upkeep of some of Britain’s most beloved buildings and monuments.

Tags: Mining