TED Case Studies

Scottish Quarry Trade

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          CASE NUMBER:        229  
          CASE MNEMONIC:      QUARRY
          CASE NAME:          Scottish Quarries and Trade

A.         IDENTIFICATION

1.         The Issue

     Scotland, known for its rugged coastline, numerous lochs and
scenic harbors is facing a little-known environmental problem --
the exploitation of natural resources along its northwest coast. 
This exploitation, in the form of "rock mining," or quarrying, has
reached disturbing levels with the inception of "superquarries,"
mountain-moving operations which mine more than 5 million tons of
rock a year from quarry sites.  Recently, hard rocks are being
traded more and more on an international scale, much like valuable
minerals.  "The trigger for this trade is the increasing shortage
of land in densely populated areas of Europe, such as southeastern
England, and parts of northern Germany and the Netherlands, which
is squeezing out local sand and gravel quarrying for local
construction needs."  Scottish environmental groups are concerned
that superquarries will damage "pristine sites" and further
encourage England's exploitation of Scotland's natural resources. 
On the business end, developers believe that if Scotland does not
act soon to exploit its resources, "it could lose out in the
growing international trade.".

2.         Description

     The Scottish "superquarry" idea was formulated by "Colin
Gribble, a geologist at the University of Glasgow, and Ian Wilson,
a Scottish entrepreneur specialising in minerals."  Both men were
involved with a late 1960's British Government plan which proposed
building a third London airport at Maplin Sands on the Essex coast. 
"Wilson proposed building the runways and massive sea walls out of
rock from a quarry found by Gribble at Peterhead on Scotland's east
coast."

     Eventually, the Maplin project failed to materialize, but
Wilson continued to search for other ways to use hard Scottish
rock.  In 1976, he was able to convince Ralph Verney, advisor to
the environment secretary, to allow Gribble and himself to
undertake a study concerning the establishment of coastal quarries
in Scotland.  In 1980, Gribble and Wilson published their final
report naming "16 potential sites, mostly on the Scottish western
coast and islands, for many of which [Wilson] owned the mineral
rights."  One of those sites, known as Glensanda, located on Loch
Linnhe, became Scotland's first superquarry in 1988.  It has been
producing around 5 million tons of granite a year, with plans to
increase output to around 15 million tons a year in the near future
(Glensanda is classified as a superquarry because it produces more
than 5 million tons of stone a year).  Thus far, Glensanda is the
only active superquarry in Scotland -- run by Foster Yeoman, a UK
operation.

     As the demand for rock increases, further accelerated by
demands from overseas users (particularly railway and roadway
builders from the European mainland and the United States), and
from a shortage of available rock in England, it has been necessary
for the British Government to look into Scottish reserves.

     Because Scotland has many valuable stone resources (e.g.,
granite, quartzites, gneisses, limestone and sandstone), the
Scottish Government has been formulating ways to regulate their
exploitation.  First, the authorities have identified areas of SSSI
(sites of special scientific interest).  These special locations
often consist of local species, caves, and rare deposits of
limestone flora.  Second, the authorities have placed some lochs
under the jurisdiction of the RAMSAR CONVENTION, a legal form of
international protection.  Third, the Scottish Office has just
recently drawn up policy guidelines to deal with superquarrying. 
In addition, at least one Scottish locality has held a referendum
on the possibility of building a superquarry.

     Environmentalists tracking superquarry developments fear
destruction of natural habitats which are likely to include:  1)
the destruction of natural water sources,  2) the introduction of
foreign organisms (through ballast water) which could destroy
native species and habitat, 3) the failure of developers to
encourage recycling of demolition rubble, and  4) increases in
noise and dust pollution.

     Developers, however, believe that:  1) superquarries will
bring economic regeneration to Scotland (especially by adding trust
funds to quarry communities),  2) cut down on needless, smaller
quarrying which has ruined land in the past,  3) improve the
"viability of...the economics of transporting heavy bulk materials,
...[allowing] sea-borne stone from Scotland to compete in the
South-East against more traditional rail-borne sources..." and 
4) make Britain more competitive in the world's rock export
market.

     The issue of superquarrying will continue to take on added
significance this year as the Secretary of State for Scotland, Ian
Lang, who is the final arbiter in all quarry matters, initiates
deliberations over whether to accept or deny proposals for more
superquarry sites.

3.         Related Cases

     CEMEX case
     MANGROVE case
     BALLAST case
     HAWAII case

     Keyword Clusters

     (1): Product                   = MINeral
     (2): Bio-geography             = Temperate
     (3): Environmental Problem     = HABITat loss, DEFORestation

4.         Draft Author:  Robert D. Cohen

B.         LEGAL Clusters

5.         Discourse and Status:  INPROG

     The reference material available has not revealed any legal
ramifications from superquarrying in Scotland.  The material has
yet to mention any involvement by the EU.

6.         Forum and Scope:  (OPEN) and REGION

     Since superquarry development is fairly new, the forum and
scope of cases are still "open" to discussion and deliberation. 
Quarry development in Spain, France, and England are subject to
laws, local plans, and reports.  For example, Spain's quarries are
subject to the coastal law of 1988 which does not permit quarries
to be established within 200 meters of the Spanish coastline (large
quarries are "excluded from a coastal strip 1 kilometer wide"). 
France's "local plans" only allow for quarry sites "well away from
the coast."  England follows the guidelines set forth in the
Department of the Environment's publication, "Coastal
Superquarries."  The report found that there were "no reasonable
prospects for coastal superquarry development along the coastlines
of England and Wales."  In Scotland, however, there has been no
clear guidance on superquarry development.  Discussions concerning
whether or not superquarries should be established have been held
at the regional and local levels.  For instance, the Highland
Regional council discussed plans for the development of the
proposed Durness site in Northern Scotland.  Later, the Community
Council went to the local citizenry to solicit opinions for the
project.  In a separate case, the Isle of Harris held an open
referendum on May 22, 1995 to vote for or against a proposed
superquarry site at Mount Roinebahl.  The citizens voted the
proposal down -- 1,013 to 483 -- due to fears that only 30 jobs
would be created instead of "hundreds" AND that the existence of a
superquarry might harm the fishing, fish farming and tourism
industries.

7.         Decision Breadth:  N/A

     As previously mentioned, the final arbiter in all Scottish
superquarry cases is the Secretary of State for Scotland, Ian Lang. 
He is scheduled to be the arbiter of four cases over the next
several years.  These cases will most probably involve proposed
superquarry sites in the following areas:  the Highland Region, the
Shetland Islands, and the Western Isles.

8.         Legal Standing:  N/A

     The single legislative item mentioned in the research material
is the RAMSAR CONVENTION for international protection of sites with
special scientific interest (SSSI).  Formally known as the
Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, the Ramsar
Convention was "ratified [in 1971] by most of the world's nations,
including China and Britain" in Ramsar, Iran.  It was designed
to "stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands and
to promote their wise use."  This agreement has not been used to
block superquarry development, but, because the convention
currently protects special loch sites, developers have not
challenged its protective authority.

C.         GEOGRAPHIC Clusters

9.         Geographic Locations

     a.    Geographic Domain : EUROPE
     b.    Geographic Site   : NEUROPE
     c.    Geographic Impact : UK

     Though this case study centers on Scottish superquarries, the
geographic implications are global.  Currently, superquarries are
being planned for Canada, Ireland, and Spain.  The research has
indicated that there is one superquarry operating in Norway (with
another in the planning stage) and one currently operating in
Mexico.

10.        Sub-National Factors:  YES

     The Scottish superquarry issue is currently at the British
Sub-National level.  As the issue starts to expand, it will be
important to scrutinize Scottish developments.  Current Scottish
nationalist aspirations may be partly behind the environmental
drive to oppose superquarry development.  Matters such as this
will define the Sub-National agenda for the future.  Scotland is
moving slowly on the superquarry issue.

11.        Type of Habitat:  Temperate (Cool)

D.         TRADE CLUSTERS

12.        Type of Measure:  REGBAN

13.        Direct v. Indirect Impacts:  INDIRECT

14.        Relation of Measure to Environmental Impacts:  DIRect

     a.  Directly Related:  YES  STONE
     b.  Indirectly Related:  NO
     c.  Not Related:  NO
     d.  Process Related:  YES  HABITat loss

15.        Trade Product Identification:  STONE

     Scotland's stone reserves carry "a wide variety of rocks
[that] fit the bill for crushing into aggregates, including most
igneous rocks such as granite, metamorphic rocks such as quartzites
and gneisses, plus compacted limestones and sandstones." 
Products requiring these various rocks include:  asphalt
(blacktop), gravel, and concrete (ready-mix).  These products are
eventually used in road-building, rail ballast and other aggregate
requirements.

16.        Economic Data
     
     In 1994, a multi-national consulting firm, Ove Arup & Partners
completed a L50,000 (British Pounds) quarry study for the Scottish
Highland Regional Council.  The paper examined whether or not the
Durness-Loch Eriboll community would benefit from the presence of
a superquarry.  The results yielded the following information:  1)
the superquarry's developers would be able to contribute up to
roughly $180,000 a year to a Durness community trust fund,  2) the
developers, after donating only 4 cents a ton to the trust fund,
would still receive competitive prices for their aggregates (
around $13.00 a ton for limestone, $13.00 a ton for gneiss, and an
average of $13.00 for both), and  3) the area surrounding Durness
would actually remain more economically dependent on tourism than
on the superquarry because the study found "that it is the natural
environment of that part of Sutherland that will underpin the local
economy, not a quarry development!"

17.        Impact of Measure on Trade Competitiveness:  NONE

     As the embryonic issue of superquarrying begins to take shape,
more restrictions are likely to be imposed.  Meanwhile, the
research has uncovered no known trade restrictions on stone
aggregates mined from superquarries, even from within the EU. 
Nationally and sub-nationally, certain restrictions have been
placed on quarrying in general (e.g., Spain, France, England and
Wales have coastline regulations governing the location and
creation of quarries).

18.        Industry Sector:  Mining (M), STONE

19.        Exporter and Importer:  WEUR and WEUR, USA

     Research has indicated that leading exporters of stone in
Europe include the Britain and Norway.  Leading importers include
Germany, Britain, Denmark, Holland and the United States.

E.         ENVIRONMENT Clusters

20.        Environmental Problem Type:  HABITat

     If not properly regulated, superquarries will cause many
problems for the environment.  Improper ballast water could damage
fish and plant life.  The removal of mountains and hills will
affect run-off and spoil natural habitats.  Minerals, trees, birds,
and insects will be displaced.  Superquarrying, in other words,
could start a chain reaction of calamitous events.

21.        Species Information:  NO

22.       Impact and Effect:  LOW and PRODuct

     Since superquarrying is a new practice, the degree of impact
of the case on the environment cannot be rated as MEDIUM or HIGH. 
However, as time passes and more is known about superquarrying's
effects, its impact on the environment will rise.  The future stone
aggregate market will have a paramount effect on superquarrying,
therefore, these effects are definitely product-oriented.

23.        Urgency and Lifetime: LONG and about 100 years

     If superquarrying begins to run rampant, mass exploitation
will become harder to check.  Therefore, plans for limiting
exploitation should be formulated sooner, rather than later. 
According to one estimate, the Glensanda superquarry will begin
running out of stone a little over 100 years from now (probably
average for most superquarry sites).

24.        Substitutes:  NONE

     Research has not indicated whether synthetic rock is currently
being used as an alternative to stones.  Most road construction and
railroad ballast is still made with rock from quarrying.  This is
not to say, however, that the future will bring forth further
developments in the synthetic field.

F.         OTHER FACTORS

25.        Culture:  YES

     As long as most developed nations continue to construct roads,
highways, and railway beds, the demand for crushed aggregates will
continue.  The current trend is on the increase.  For example, 
over the last 30 years, the British demand for rock aggregates has
trebled and the government has predicted that the demand will rise
by almost two-thirds by the year 2010.

26.        Trans-Border:  NO

27.        Human Rights:  NO or YES

28.        Gender:  NO

29.        Geo-Politics:  NO

30.        Relevant Literature:

     JOURNALS:
Barrett, Nick.  "UK:  Construction News Materials Supplement -
     Doing Yeomanly Service," Construction News (June 10, 1993).
Green, Brian.  "Norway: AMEC Enters the Stone Age-Quarrying." 
     Construction News (March 30, 1995).
Pearce, Fred.  "Rush for Rock in the Highlands."  New Scientist
     141/1907 (January 8, 1994).
"UK:  Scottish Superquarries Limited to Four."  Surveyor (April
     21, 1994).
     NEWSPAPERS:
Arlidge, John.  "Islanders say no to 'Superquarry' Plan."  The
     Independent (May 23, 1995).
Buie, Elizabeth.  "Superquarries to be Restricted to Four, Says
     Lang."  The Glasgow Herald (April 14, 1994).
Ross, David.  "Rural Superquarry Communities can Look To Pay-
     Offs."  The Glasgow Herald (April 14, 1994).
Nicoll, Ruaridh.  "Looking at a View of the Future Climbers Want
     to see Which Mountain is Where Without Having To Work it out
     on a Flapping Map."  The Scotsman:  Scotland on Sunday
     (February 26, 1995).
Letters to The Scotsman (January 17, 1995).
Frame, Lorna.  "Scotland's Turning Into one big tip;  Inside
     Story:  Fears for our Homeland;  Scotland's Environment." 
     The Scottish Daily Record (May 23, 1995).
Agence France Presse (May 23, 1995).
     OTHER SOURCES
UK Government Press Releases (February 28, 1995).