Members of St Giles’ Church Balderton visit Saint Gobain Formula’s Bantycock Quarry in Newark

Members of a church group were impressed and amazed during their tour of a quarry.

As the visit started in the Saint-Gobain Formula’s Bantycock Quarry in Newark and ended in the packing plant of the nearby Jericho Works, the group was able to see the whole gypsum and plaster processing process from start to finish.

The quarry supplies gypsum for the production of high-quality plaster products. The Jericho plant has operated for 55 years and produces a range of high quality plaster products for applications such as ceramics, food and brewing industries, decorative work and dentistry.

One of the visitors from St Giles’ Church Balderton, Ian Lawrence said: “As a group, we try to organise at least one interesting trip each year.

“This really was a thought-provoking visit. Everyone was amazed and impressed with both the quarry and the factory operations.

“It was really fascinating to hear about the measures the company puts in place to limit and manage the impact of Bantycock Quarry operations on our neighbours including monitoring, dust suppression and site design. The way the company plans the restoration and rehabilitation of the land once quarrying in that area has finished was also remarkable.

“We were taken aback by how much work goes into the manufacture of such a huge range of end products. Who knew that our daily loaf of bread probably contains some Bantycock gypsum.”

Deputy production manager at Jericho Works, Jack Lowe added: “It was a pleasure to be able to accommodate this group on a visit to both the quarry and the factory on one day.

“They got a real insight into how much planning is involved right through from quarry design to our product bags, and the lorries taking our products to customers.”