(PECKFIELD), GARFORTH, LEEDS; THEIR NATURE, POTENTIAL USES, and PROSPECTS for EVENTUAL ECONOMIC RECOVERY for MR CHRISTOPHER MAKIN
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Upton House Market Street Charlbury Oxfordshire, OX7 3PJ United Kingdom tel +44 (0)1608 810374 fax +44 (0)1608 810093 e-mail [email protected] www.gwp.uk.com NOTE ON THE MINERAL RESOURCES BENEATH SITES HG2-124 AND BL1-40 (PECKFIELD), GARFORTH, LEEDS; THEIR NATURE, POTENTIAL USES, AND PROSPECTS FOR EVENTUAL ECONOMIC RECOVERY For MR CHRISTOPHER MAKIN August 2018 GWP Consultants LLP Registered No. OC326183 Registered Office: Upton House, Market Street, Charlbury, Oxfordshire, OX7 3PJ, UK Report Title: Note on the mineral resources beneath Sites HG2-124 and BL1-40 (Peckfield), Garforth, Leeds; their nature, potential uses, and prospects for eventual economic recovery Client: Mr Christopher Makin Job: PECK Report Number: 180807 Issue Status: Final, issued Issue Date: 22nd August 2018 Prepared by: Ruth Allington Approved by: Alan Cobb Date: 22/08/18 Signature: This document is based on GWP report template v1.04 and Normal template v3.09 03/01/18 This report has been prepared by GWP Consultants LLP (GWP) on the specific instructions of our Client. It is solely for our Client‘s use for the purpose for which it is intended in accordance with the agreed scope of work. Any use or reliance by any person contrary to the above, to which GWP has not given its prior written consent, is at that person‘s own risk and may be an infringement of GWP‘s copyright. Furthermore the report is issued on the understanding that GWP‘s general terms and conditions of engagement are accepted, copies of which are available on request. CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Instructions .............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Scope and structure of this note ................................................................................ 1 2. INFORMATION RELIED UPON IN THE PREPARATION OF THIS NOTE ........................... 2 3. GEOLOGICAL SETTING OF THE SUBJECT SITE ........................................................... 3 3.1 Magnesian Limestone deposit .................................................................................... 3 3.1.1 Distribution and description ....................................................................................... 3 3.1.2 Uses of Lower Magnesian Limestone from this locality in 1938 ..................................... 5 3.2 Basal Permian Sand deposit ....................................................................................... 7 3.2.1 Distribution, description and mining history ................................................................ 7 3.2.2 Uses of Basal Permian Sand in 1938 ........................................................................... 9 5. RESPONSES TO THE QUESTIONS POSED ................................................................... 9 5.1 Magnesian Limestone deposit .................................................................................... 9 5.1.1 Was the limestone beneath the site regarded in the vernacular of the mining world, the commercial world and landowners as a ”mineral‘ in 1938? ....................................................................................................................... 9 5.1.2 If the limestone beneath the subject site was regarded as a ”mineral‘ in 1938, did this mineral have any special characteristics, properties or uses that would distinguish it from other limestone? If so, what were they? ........................................................................................................................ 9 5.1.3 Would it be possible and potentially viable to recover limestone from beneath the subject site in an underground mine? How would this be done? ....................................................................................................................... 9 5.2 Basal Permian Sand deposit ..................................................................................... 10 5.2.1 Was the Permian Sand beneath the site regarded in the vernacular of the mining world, the commercial world and landowners as a ”mineral‘ in 1938? ................................................................................................................. 10 5.2.2 If the limestone beneath the subject site was regarded as a ”mineral‘ in 1938, did this mineral have any special characteristics, properties or uses that would distinguish it from other sand? If so, what were they? ..................... 11 5.2.3 What is the extent of the sand beneath the site and would it be possible and potentially viable to recover it from beneath this site in an underground mine? If so, how would this be done? ................................................. 11 FIGURES Figure 1 The outcrop of the Permian Magnesian Limestone Figure 2 The distribution of the Carboniferous Limestone in the British Isles Figure 3 Diagram illustrating the potential surface impacts of collapse of Basal Permian Sand mines Figure 4 Extract from Drawing No. PECK1808-1 showing details of the Basal Permian Sand from Barclay et al 1990 and the location of GroundTech exploratory boreholes 2018 Figure 5 Sketch illustrating the geometry of room and pillar mine workings DRAWINGS PECK1808-1 The Site and other localities and features referred to in the report. 1/25,000 Mineral resources at Peckfield Mr Christopher Makin 180807.v04 22/08/18 i APPENDICES Appendix 1 Summary CV, Ruth Allington Appendix 2 Information about the tunnels excavated in Lower Magnesian Limestone at Micklefield Quarry Appendix 3 Information about Portland Stone mining on the Isle of Portland, Dorset Appendix 4 Photographs and diagrams of former Basal Permian Sand mining and its impacts Mineral resources at Peckfield Mr Christopher Makin 180807.v04 22/08/18 ii NOTE ON THE MINERAL RESOURCES BENEATH SITES HG2-124 AND BL1- 40 (PECKFIELD), GARFORTH, LEEDS; THEIR NATURE, POTENTIAL USES, AND PROSPECTS FOR EVENTUAL ECONOMIC RECOVERY 1. INTRODUCTION I am Ruth Allington, a Chartered Geologist and Chartered Engineer with 37 years‘ experience in the evaluation of the mineral potential of green field sites in the UK and overseas and in the design of quarries and mines to recover the mineral reserves they contain economically, whilst limiting their environmental and social impacts. My experience especially relates to resources and reserves of construction materials and industrial minerals; my CV is included with this note at Appendix 1. I have been providing technical support and advice to Mr Makin and his legal and professional advisors in relation to the Peckfield site since August 2017. 1.1 Instructions This note is intended to provide technical support to Mr Makin‘s legal representatives in preparing the relevant section of the —Position Statement between: (1) BDW Homes and Taylor Wimpey (—BDW/TW“) (2) Mr Christopher Makin (3) Leeds City Council (—LCC“)“. I have been asked to address the following questions regarding the geology and minerals potential of the subject site: Magnesian Limestone deposit • Was the limestone beneath the site regarded in the vernacular of the mining world, the commercial world and landowners as a ”mineral‘ in 1938? • If the limestone beneath the subject site was regarded as a ”mineral‘ in 1938, did this mineral have any special characteristics, properties or uses that would distinguish it from other limestone? If so, what were they? • Would it be possible and potentially viable to recover limestone from beneath the subject site in an underground mine? If yes, how would this be done? Permian Sand at the base of the Magnesian Limestone deposit • Was the Permian Sand beneath the site regarded in the vernacular of the mining world, the commercial world and landowners as a ”mineral‘ in 1938? • If the Permian Sand beneath the subject site was regarded as a ”mineral‘ in 1938, did this mineral have any special characteristics, properties or uses that would distinguish it from other sand? If so, what were they? • What is the extent of the sand beneath the site and would it be possible and potentially viable to recover it from beneath this site in an underground mine? If yes, how would this be done? 1.2 Scope and structure of this note This note is presented in 4 sections following this introduction: Section 2: Information relied upon in the preparation of this note A summary of the information relied upon in the preparation of this note. This includes texts on geology and minerals dating from the 1920s and 1930s as well as more up-to-date geological information and planning context. Section 3: Geological setting of the subject site A description of the geological setting of the subject site and summary of what was known about the occurrence and properties of the limestone and sand, and what they were used for in 1938. Section 4: Responses to the questions posed Mineral resources at Peckfield Mr Christopher Makin 180807.v04 22/08/18 Page 1 of 11 2. INFORMATION RELIED UPON IN THE PREPARATION OF THIS NOTE In addition to documents relating to this site provided to me by Mr Makin‘s legal representative, I have consulted the following published and publicly available information in the course of preparing this note: • Geological maps, memoirs and borehole records published and/or made available online by the British Geological Survey, particularly: o Edwards, W., Mitchell, G. H. and Whitehead, T. (1950). Geology of the District North and East of Leeds; Memoir of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, explanation of one-inch