Investment into Binnegar Quarry leads to improved quality of product

Binnegar Quarry, near Wareham, Dorset, has seen a £1.6m investment into the site’s processing plant and infrastructure.  Earlier this year, Dorset County Council resolved to grant planning permission to erect a new wash plant, weighbridge and improved general infrastructure to the southern side of Puddletown Road.

The area north of Puddletown Road, which Raymond Brown has operated since 2006, has now been vacated and the plant decommissioned, with the remaining area levelled out for restoration.  This original wash plant (c. 1980) was at the end of its useful life and did not have the dry scalping capability to remove +60mm.

Raymond Brown moved to the south side of Puddletown Road during 2016 and investment was made to install a new wash plant within the current extraction area.  Originally, three articulated dump trucks were hauling mineral approx 1.3km to the northern site for processing. Now, on the southern side, only one dump truck is required.  This has a considerable financial saving for the company and significant environmental savings.

The new wash plant has a dry scalping screen installed along with a lignite separator.  The screen permits the dry removal of +60mm waste (clays, stones, etc.), making it easy to handle.  The lignite separator removes a high percentage of lignite from the coarse sand, allowing a greater end use by customers.

An area formerly used for sand extraction has also been fully lined with clay to provide a new silt management area, which will accommodate silt arisings for the remaining life of the quarry.

The new weighbridge building has built-in air conditioning units and is completely sealed, allowing the operator a dust free environment.  The weighbridge also features two external displays, automatic number plate recognition, CCTV and an intercom system permitting the driver to stay in the cab whilst communicating with the weighbridge operator.  This saves time and is much safer as it reduces the need for customers to get out of their vehicles.

Civil engineering work took place over the summer of 2018 and the plant is now fully operational and already showing an improved rate of production and quality of product.