INSTITUTE OF GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES Mineral Assessment Report 97 Natural Environment Research Council

TL 65 TL 75 TL 85 The sand and gravel resources of the country 0 Hartest around Clare, -7 a TL64 ( TL 74 TL 84 Description of I :25 000

p. Stour sheet TL 74 Haverhill Clare 0 -7 b Sudbury 0 TL 63 TL73 \-p rf

Sible

Thaxted R. J. Marks a

0 Crown copyright 1982

ISBN 0 11 884297 8" London HerMajesty's Stationery Office 1982 PREFACE CONTENTS National resources of many industrial minerals may seem Summary 1 so large that stocktaking appears unnecessary, but the demand for minerals and for land for all purposes is Introduction 1 intensifying and it has become increasingly clear in Description of the district 2 recent years that regional assessments of the resources Topography 3 of these minerals should be undertaken. The publication Geology 3 of information about the quantity and quality of deposits Composition of the sand and gravel deposits 7 over large areas is intended to provide a comprehensive Themap 9 factual background against which planning decisions can Results 11 be made. Notes on the resource blocks 13 Sand and gravel, considered together as naturally List of workings 14 occurring aggregate, was selected as the bulk mineral demanding the most urgent attention, initially in the References 14 south-east of , where about half the national output is won and very few sources of alternative Appendix A: Field and laboratory procedures 15 aggregates are available. Following a short feasibility Appendix B: Statistical procedure 16 project, initiated in 1966 by the Ministry of Land and Appendix C: Classification and description of Natural Resources, the Industrial Minerals Assessment sand and gravel 17 Unit (formerly the Mineral Assessment Unit) began Appendix D: Explanation of the borehole records 19 systematic surveys in 1968. The work is now being Appendix E: Industrial Minerals Assessment Unit financed by the Department of the Environment and is borehole records 21 being undertaken with the cooperation of the Sand and Gravel Association of Great Britain. This report describes the sand and gravel resources of FIGURES the country around Clare, Suffolk, shown on the 1 Map showing the location of the resource sheet accompanying 195 000 resource map. The survey was area 2 conducted in 1979 by R. J. Marks, under the supervision 2 The topography of the district, with resource block of P. I. Manning, assisted in the drilling and sampling boundaries and locations mentioned in the text 3 programme by J. R. Gozzard. The work is based on a 3 Schematic section showing the relationship between geological survey at 1:lO 560 carried out by the drift and solid formations 5 D. Millward in 1978-79. J. D. Burnell, IS0 (Land Agent) 4 Map showing the bedrock surface contours 6 was responsible for negotiating access to land for 5 Mean particle-size distribution of the mineral- drilling. The ready cooperation of landowners and bearing deposits 10 tenants in this work is gratefully acknowledged. 6 Mean particle-size distribution for the assessed thickness of sand and gravel in the resource blocks 11

G. M. Brown MAP Director The sand and gravel resources of the country around Clare, Suffolk in pocket Institute of Geological Sciences Exhibition Road London SW7 2DE TABLES 1 Geological sequence 4 1 November 1981 2 Mean composition of the gravel (+4 mm) fraction of the mineral-bearing deposits 8 3 Assessment of resources: summary of statistical results 9 4 Block A: data from IlLlAU boreholes 12 5 Block B: data from IMAU boreholes 12 6 Block C: data from IMAU boreholes 12

The first twelve reports on the assessment of British sand and gravel resources appeared in the Report Series of the Institute of Geological Sciences as a subseries. Report No. 13 and subsequent reports appear as Mineral Assessment Reports of the Institute. Details of published re