Mineral products industry UK’s biggest producer by volume

A total of 400Mt of essential aggregates, industrial minerals and other manufactured mineral products were produced in Great Britain in 2018, according to the latest figures published by the UK Mineral Products Association (MPA). This is said to be the UK’s biggest producer by volume.

This includes aggregates for railways, asphalt for roads, mortar for homes, concrete for schools, hospitals and infrastructure, armour stone for coastal defences, industrial lime for drinking water, industrial sand for glass, and clays for ceramics. The volume is said to be four times that of UK energy minerals production.

The Association notes that the mineral products industry 'directly contributed to the UK economy by generating over £5.8bln in gross value added in 2018, and a turnover of £16bln. It also enabled a further £597bln turnover in industries downstream in the supply chain. The industry employs 81,000 people directly at over 2,000 active sites and plants, and supports an additional 3.5 million jobs throughout the supply chain'.