Overview

The Melton Plant extracts and processes calcium carbonate
(chalk) from the Melton Quarry to produce a range of fillers and extenders which
are used in a variety of industrial applications. Marble stone is imported and
similarly processed into products for use in industrial and food applications.
The Melton Plant further processes a range of minerals to produce coated,
slurried and granulated products for specific applications.

Certificates

This plant is certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.

Geology

Extraction takes place of the high purity, microcrystalline
'Burham Chalk' and, to a lesser extent, the 'Welton Chalk' which lie above the
Plenus Marl horizon. These sedimentary Senonian deposits were laid down in the
Upper Cretaceous period between 70 and 80 million years ago and mainly comprise
the shells and skeletons of marine organisms such as coccoliths and
foraminifera.

History

Industrial production started at Melton Quarry in 1921 under the
ownership of W.Marshall (Hessle) Ltd, supplying chalk slurry to the nearby
Humber Cement Works. In 1937 production of the first non-cement grade (an
agricultural chalk) followed the introduction of a farming subsidy for such
applications. Further capital investment expanded the range of products. In 1946
Pfieffer classifiers were installed to produce a putty grade. In the 1950s more
classifiers were installed extending the range to seven grades and by 1983 the
whole plant had been reorganised into nine classifiers producing seven grades.
By 2002 the plant had expanded to include a marble processing plant, a coating
plant and a granulating plant on a modernised site.

In 1958 Blue Circle
took over the site and in 1987 the Melton plant was divorced from the Humber
Cement Works. The latter closed in 1981 and Melton Plant became fully
independent. In 1989 Blue Circle and Croxton + Garry Ltd formed a joint venture,
merging their industrial minerals operations. An amicable separation followed in
1992 and Melton Plant is Omya UK Ltd's largest chalk whiting production site.

Details