Posted By Graham Bullough
Though I have an interest in old quarries through amateur geology and industrial archaeology, I don't claim to be an expert on them. I'm slightly surprised at HSE's response because some working quarries, especially the larger ones, will have faces which are worked out or haven't been worked for some years and may be worked again in the future.

Any recommended frequency of inspection will almost certainly depend on several or more aspects, notably the rock type/s involved, the presence of joints (which in turn tend to determine vulnerability to freeze-thaw expansion) weak strata and the height of the faces involved. Therefore, you might be best contacting operators of quarries with a similar rock type and size to yours. There are also trade organisations for quarry operators, most or all of whom can be tracked down using the internet. Another source of help may be the National Stone Centre near Wirksworth in Derbyshire.

A further thought is why do you need to carry out or get a specialist to carry formal rock face inspections? If your company merely uses the floor of the disused quarry for other purposes, has plenty of space for them, and there is no need to approach the faces, why not erect fencing, markers or some other line at a distance from the quarry faces? A distance of twice the face height may be reasonable, but you are best to get advice from quarry operators, etc. about this ,especially in relation to the height and angle of the quarry face and the rock type/s involved. Another consideration is how easy or difficult it is for non-employees to enter the quarry site - which would determine the extent of warning notices and the nature of any barriers or other features forming the distance line. Any aspect to consider is whether the disused quarry faces are or could be attractive to rock climbers, as are some of the old gritstone quarries in Derbyshire and slate quarries in Wales and Cumbria.

Posted By simon carrier
Graham
Thanks for the information. The quarry was previously worked by the local authority who apparently used some rather dubious techniques to extract the rock consequently some of the rockface has been undercut. We already have in place bunding and fencing around the top perimeter. I will try to contact other operators in the area however I think it will be a prudent of me to call in the specialists and ask them for a considered opinion. I have also asked the Quarry Products Association for their thoughts on this matter. Thanks again for your assistance.