Great Tew Ironstone Quarry in the UK has purchased a new top-of-the-range
The DL580-5 carries huge 14-16 tonne blocks of ironstone from the quarry face to a new £1mn stone processing plant that has recently begun production at the top of the North Oxfordshire quarry.
Great Tew Ironstone has a striking brown and blue vein and is only available from this Oxfordshire quarry. The quarried block is often up to 30 tonnes, which opens up a wide variety of uses, including building and walling stone, architectural details, mullion windows, copings, quoins and flooring. Smaller quarried block is suitable for rockery stone and one-off garden features. The quarry lies on the historic Great Tew Estate, which always quarried block for its own use and in 2000, the quarry was opened further to satisfy a wider demand for the unique product.
The DL580-5 is equipped with specially matched pallet tines. It brings the large blocks of up to 30 tonnes from the base of the quarry to the top and, at the end of a short road, loads them on to the sawing machines in the processing plant. Previously, the quarry was only able to move blocks weighing a maximum of 10 tonnes.
Great Tew is part of Johnston Quarry Group which supplies quarried and mined block stone in southern England. The group also owns and operates Sarsden Quarry in Oxfordshire, Creeton Quarry and Ropsley Quarry both in Lincolnshire and Oathill Quarry in Gloucestershire, in addition to three Bath stone mines.
