07-07-2010, 10:32
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#18
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Re: Where did all the Slate used on roofs come from
during the victorian era north wales was the largest producer and exporter of roof and building slate slate in the world. the largest slate mining areas being around llechwedd, blenau ffestiniog, and llanberis. each area having its own particular slate ie. you can tell quite easily which area the slate comes from by its colour, the pigmentation of the slate is due to the various minerals that filter through the hefty grantie which sits over the slate reserves and finally into the slate. for example if you were to go to the quarry at Llanberis you would find the slate to be a light blue/green colour due to the large amounts of copper that filters into it.
Sadly in later years it became cheaper to import slate from abroad and the slate quarries of north wales slowly died out, however in more recent times a number of the quarries have reopened utilising the "slate tips" ie all the unusable slate that was dumped on the hillsides around the quarries, much like the slag heaps of coal mines. this slate is now being used as foundation material and also for decorative purposes such as driveways etc. it is also ground into a fine powder and used as a base for cement and believe it or not.................................. WOMEN'S MAKE-UP!!!!!!!!
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