Essential materials

Performance indicators

• Tonnage of aggregates produced: 281 million tonnes GB, total aggregates market
• Volume from land sources: 201 million tonnes of primary aggregates GB
• Volume from marine sources: 13 million tonnes
• Proportion from recycled and secondary sources: 24%
• Per capita production: 4.8 tonnes in GB and 6.9 tonnes in EU
• Primary aggregates use relative to construction: 2.7 tonnes per £1,000 of construction output
• Total aggregates use relative to construction: 3.5 tonnes per £1,000 of construction output
• Employment: Direct and indirect 88,270

Current position

Some 90 per cent of aggregates minerals are used in the construction industry. The remaining ten per cent of crushed rock and sand and gravel is used for a wide variety of industrial, agricultural and environmental uses, including iron and steel and glass manufacture, reducing the acidity of agricultural land, and cleaning power station emissions.

Aggregates are used in all sectors of construction, from major infrastructure developments to housing improvements and repairs. The current value of construction output is £100 billion pa, equivalent to seven per cent of the economy, although the official measures of construction output understate total construction activity. The level of construction activity is closely related to economic growth and public investment. Government plans to improve public services, the performance of our transport infrastructure, and to implement its sustainable communities plan, depend on the ability of the aggregates sector to supply the materials necessary to build and maintain the required buildings and structures.

The highest profile construction project seen in the UK for many years, the provision of the stadia, accommodation and infrastructure for the 2012 Olympic Games, and associated regeneration work, will provide a strong illustration of the role the aggregates industry plays in improving standards of living and quality of life.

In 2004, the aggregates sector supplied 281 million tonnes of crushed rock, sand and gravel, recycled and secondary materials, 27million tonnes of asphalt and 23 million cubic metres of ready-mixed concrete to construction projects in Britain. The increasing efficiency of use of aggregates, relative to construction and GDP means that aggregates demand is unlikely to mirror the 2.0 - 3.0 per cent growth trends likely for construction and GDP. In the foreseeable future however, there is likely to be a continuing demand for significant volumes of aggregates and quarry products.

Aspirations

Quarried materials are essential to the quality of life we expect for ourselves and others. We aspire to achieve the best value for society from each tonne of material extracted and sold.