The Black Mountain overlooks west Belfast, but over the years a highly visible scar grows ever more visible. A mining company are quarrying basalt rock from its summit destroying In only a number of years what has taken nature millions of years to form. The extraction of rock continues but there is a campaign by local residents to SAVE the BLACK MOUNTAIN. THE PHYSICAL LANDSCAPE BLACK MOUNTAIN Slemish College Geography Department
QUARRYING ON THE BLACK MOUNTAIN: GENERAL INFO • Antrim basalt is extracted & crushed into various grades. • Av annual production is 500, 000 tonnes of rock. • Total no employed is 100. • 20/25 trucks per day used for the haulage of stone. • 2, 500 tonnes of stone moved each day. • Cheaper to buy larger stones, as it takes more to process the rock into smaller sizes. • Av price for stone is £ 3 - £ 4 per tonne. • The quarry company has received planning permission to continue quarrying until 2056 ! Slemish College Geography Department
THE GRIM REALITY Slemish College Geography Department
The skyline of the Black Mountain highlighted with quarry machinery, painted green so that it blends in with the hillside !! BLACK MOUNTAIN SKYLINE Slemish College Geography Department
The quarry is operated by WHITE MOUNTAIN WHITEMOUNTAIN: LAGAN GROUP QUARRIES. The company quarries 2. 5 million tonnes of material per year, but has the capacity to produce 4 million tonnes! Antrim basalt is quarried from the Black Mt and is used mostly as the “hard core” for surfacing jobs on roads and airports throughout Ireland & Britain and further afield. In fact the rock has been used at Aldergrove Airport and the new Hong Kong International Airport and many other sites around the world. So rock mined from a Belfast Mountain has found its way to the far corners of the earth. The basalt is blasted from the mountain and in its roughest shape takes the form of large boulders. It is then crushed by heavy machinery to a variety of sizes and grades right down to basalt “dust”. This dust forms the basis of ready mixed concrete made in three factories in the Belfast area. Much of the profit from the basalt quarrying comes from the transport delivery of the material. A constant stream of quarry lorries takes the stone from the mountain to various destinations around Ireland to the port of Belfast. Conservationists and “Save the Black Mountain” campaigners state that: “Every lorry that leaves the quarry is taking another piece of the heart of the mountain with it” Slemish College Geography Department
THE BLACK MOUNTAIN Visible from all angles the quarry dominates the skyline Slemish College Geography Department
AREA CLOSE TO THE BLACK MOUNTAIN QUARRY Slemish College Geography Department
HANNAHSTOWN HILL: NEW HOUSING DEVELOPMENT The housing demand in West Belfast means that more and more land is being used by developers for new housing estates. This photograph shows the new Hannahstown Hill houses, with the quarry clearly seen above. Slemish College Geography Department
“ PROBLEMS “ Many new housing areas have been built close to the quarry as this dramatic photograph shows. Over the last 20 years opposition to quarrying on the mountain came particularly strong from people living in this area. Not only was the hole created on the side of the mountain a problem, but the dust pollution was, residents Claim leading to respiratory problems among them young and elderly, and blasting was causing structural damage to housing in the area. Slemish College Geography Department
LOOKING TOWARDS THE CITY OF BELFAST Slemish College Geography Department
1. Visual pollution. The huge canyon cut by the quarry company and the ugly buildings. 2. Noise pollution. Lorries laden with stone move down from the rock face like ants. And every week, the rumble of explosions echo across the city as another part of the mountain is blown away. 3. Destroying the environment, which cannot be recovered for our ancestors. 4. Dust pollution leading to respiratory problems, particularly among the young and the elderly. 5. Blasting causes structural damage to houses. 6. Roads are congested and dirty caused by the constant use of heavy lorries. AGAINST THE DESTRUCTION : THE REASONS Slemish College Geography Department
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE BLACK MOUNTAIN 1 Slemish College Geography Department
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE BLACK MOUNTAIN Questions 1. What type of rock is quarried at Black mountain? 2. For what purpose is the rock used? 3. Name 2 groups of people who would object to quarrying at the. Black Mountain site and explain their opposition: Group 1 Group 2 4. What forms of pollution are associated with this kind of primary activity? 5. Are there any benefits to the country from this type of exploitation of a resource? ? Benefits: 6. The quarry company have the rights to mine in this area for another 50 years. Do you agree or disagree with this. Argue your case Slemish College Geography Department
ROLE PLAY: LIVING BESIDE A QUARRY YOU LIVE HERE Write a letter to the quarry owners, letting them know that you are not happy with what is happening on the mountain. Mention how the quarrying is affecting YOU and YOUR family. Slemish College Geography Department
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