Visitors flock to Quarry Open Day

May 2007

Sibelco welcomed visitors to two special events in May as part of the first pan-European Minerals Day organised by IMA Europe. Over 300 members of the public visited Leziate Quarry in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, for guided tours of one of the UK’s most important sources of silica sand. As well as seeing the working quarry, visitors were also shown a number of restoration projects and learned about the history of quarrying in the area.

As part of the same event, Sibelco also hosted a visit from a local primary school in Devon where 35 children explored the company’s Newton Abbot ball clay operations and even tried their hand at throwing the clay on the potter’s wheel.

Running from 11-13 May, European Minerals Day was the first event of its kind and involved over 90 plants in 16 countries. The aim was to boost awareness of the importance of industrial minerals and to raise the industry’s profile.

“We felt that European Minerals Day was a worthwhile exercise in raising awareness about our industry,“ commented Sibelco’s Community Relations Officer, Amanda Roberts. “Whilst we regularly organise events such as this across our UK sites, a coordinated approach with mineral producers across Europe has ensured that the message reaches a much wider audience.”