Technical and Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in ...

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Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West RegionShoreham, Littlehampton, Southampton and Guernsey. The quantities involved havegrown steadily until a year ago, peaking at over 200,000 tpa in 2003. A very rapid increasein world shipping costs over the last 12 months has had a major impact however, and thequantity exported in 2004 is likely to be around 150,000 tonnes. This will fall further ifshipping costs continue to remain high.4.24 China clay aggregates from the Lee Moor area are also exported by sea from the docks atPomphlett, near Plymouth, but in much smaller quantities.4.25 Even before the recent increase in shipping costs, the transport of china clay aggregates bysea was a marginal operation, and exports to the south east of England, where prices arehighest, were only just able to break even. It follows that shorter journeys to ports withinthe South West and South Wales, where market prices are generally lower, would not beeconomically viable unless shipping prices fall significantly, or unless some kind ofsubsidies can be introduced to offset elements of the short-haul shipping costs. Thisconcept is explored further in Chapter 6.4.26 The exporting of china clay aggregates by sea depends for its profitability on obtainingreturn cargoes, but opportunities for this are very few. Opportunities are highest along thesouth coast and, more especially, from the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp in Holland.There are virtually no opportunities, at present, from the ports of Bristol and South Wales.4.27 A further obstacle to the transport of aggregates by sea is the maximum size of vessel thatcan be accommodated at Par Docks. Cargoes of up to 3,400 tonnes can be carried in thelargest vessels on a spring tide. Payloads of up to 2,300 tonnes are more common and theaverage cargo size at present is around 1,500 tonnes. Aggregate is loaded directly fromlorries via converted china clay conveyor loading systems, rather than being stockpiled onthe quayside (though there is space for that).4.28 Much larger vessels can be accommodated at nearby Fowey docks, where Imerys alreadyhas large scale facilities for exporting china clay, but there is insufficient space on thequayside for aggregate loading facilities, and also a risk of blown sand from aggregatestockpiles contaminating the clay. Unlike Par, the Fowey Docks are not owned by Imerys,and would therefore be more costly to use.4.29 Rail transportation of china clay aggregates has not, hitherto, been consideredeconomically viable. This is partly due to the fact that the Tamar Bridge restricts individualpayloads to 900 tonnes, with mineral operators suggesting a need for wagons to bemarshalled into larger trains at Exeter before economical onward transport to other parts ofthe South West and adjoining regions can be achieved. This, however, would justify furtherinvestigation, as tonnages of less than this are known to be moved by train from Dorset.The steep inclines between Exeter and Plymouth, known collectively as the Devon Banksimpose further restrictions. Material sourced from the South Dartmoor area to the east ofPlymouth is unaffected by the Tamar Bridge but is still not transported by rail at present,and substantial investment in loading facilities (e.g. long conveyor systems to eliminatelocal road haulage to railhead) would be needed to make the rail export of china clayaggregates from this area a more economically attractive option.4.30 Rail transport costs to the quarry operators could be reduced if profitable back-haulagecargoes could be identified but, hitherto, this has not been achieved.Changes in rate of production4.31 Tables 4.3 and 4.4, below, show the changes in rates of production of both crushed rockand sand & gravel aggregates from 1985 to 2003. With the exception of the 2003 data,these are taken from the findings of successive AM surveys, which generally provide theCapita Symonds Limited page 11 June 2005
Technical & Strategic Assessment of Aggregate Supply Options in the South West Regionmost reliable information. The 2003 data are taken from Business Monitor PA 1007,published by the Office of National Statistics, which, in turn, is derived from the ODPM’s(less detailed) Annual Mineral Raised Inquiry for 2003. Due to the limitations of the sourcedata, the figures can be shown only on an MPA basis, not for the more detailed breakdownof groups shown in Table 4.1.Table 4.3: Sales of Crushed Rock Aggregates (Mt) from AM Surveys, 1985 to 2003*1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2003*Avon 4.832 6.294 5.908 4.913 5.553 4.565Cornwall 1.870 2.862 1.584 1.251 1.687 2.192Devon 4.155 5.667 3.597 2.791 3.055 2.613Dorset 0.711 0.650 0.427 0.454 0.435Gloucestershire 1.616 2.856 2.399 2.358 2.192Withheld to avoiddisclosureWithheld to avoiddisclosureSomerset 12.667 19.884 15.278 11.667 13.987 11.671Wiltshire 0Included withDorsetIncluded withDorsetIncluded withDorsetIncluded withDorsetWithheld to avoiddisclosureTOTALS, SW 25.851 38.213 29.193 23.434 26.909 22.998*Note: 2003 data obtained from Business Monitor PA1007: Mineral Extraction in Great Britain.Table 4.4: Sales of Land - Won Sand & Gravel (Mt) from AM Surveys, 1985 to 2003*1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2003*Avon 0 0 0 0 0 0Cornwall 0.032Included withDevonIncluded withDevonIncluded withDevonIncluded withDevonWithheld to avoiddisclosureDevon 1.075 1.715 1.084 0.907 1.172 1.215Dorset 2.168 2.515 1.502 1.496 1.812 1.493Gloucestershire 1.114 1.251 0.719 0.769 0.880 1.085SomersetIncluded withDevonIncluded withDevonIncluded withDevon0 0Withheld to avoiddisclosureWiltshire 1.159 1.299 0.810 1.349 1.410 0.922TOTALS, SW 5.548 6.781 4.115 4.521 5.274 5.875*Note: 2003 data obtained from Business Monitor PA1007: Mineral Extraction in Great Britain.4.32 The figures illustrate that aggregate production in general is significantly lower now than in1989 (the peak of a major construction boom in the 1980s), and that crushed rockproduction seems to have declined further since 2001. Sand & gravel production, bycontrast, has been rising steadily over the last decade.Capita Symonds Limited page 12 June 2005
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