The first new china clay pit to open in Cornwall for almost three decades has safeguarded jobs and provided a "boost" to an industry with a 300-year history in the county.
Minerals giant Imerys officially revealed Higher Moor pit, on the edge of the Hensbarrow Downs near Roche, yesterday, though it has been operational since May.
Enormous extractors are already removing between 6,000 and 7,000 tonnes of kaolin – better known as china clay – from the ground every day. Once extraction is complete, the pit will yield four million tonnes of material that is used in a diverse range of products including ink, rubber and paper.
The new pit forms part of the huge Karslake complex, believed to be the biggest china clay pit in the world and deep enough at parts to hold the London Eye. By the end of its life, Higher Moor will cover 17 hectares – the equivalent of 23 football pitches – and reach a depth of 70m (230ft) in places.
Central area mines manager Ed Buscombe said: "All of the other six pits currently in operation are working at some considerable depth – Littlejohns at 100m for example – but Higher Moor is closer to the surface.
"When you start to work deeper you have to move more waste. Higher Moor gives us an opportunity to reach really high-quality clay at a relatively shallow depth. It boosts operations for the other pits, and by improving the life of the reserves here it really is safeguarding jobs."
Higher Moor is a "short life" pit, with planning consent to operate only until 2018. The area will then be partially backfilled and overlaid with soil taken from the original stripping. By the end of the six years the site is due to be transformed into a wetland valley habitat of shallow ponds and woodland, grassland and shrub.
It is seen as a demonstration of Imerys's commitment to the region, where it employs more than 1,000 people. The last pit it opened in the UK was Old Pound pit at Nanpean, in 1984.
