Some key statistics about the mineral products industry:

• There are around 1300 quarries in Britain supported by a fleet of 25 marine aggregates dredgers and an active recycling sector.  Together they produce about 200 million tonnes of aggregates per annum.
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• The total market for cement and cementitious materials is around 10 million tonnes per annum.  About 18% of the total supply is made up of fly ash and GGBS (blastfurnace slag).
  
  
• Recycled and secondary materials account for 25% of aggregate supply, the highest share in Europe and three times higher than the European average.

• The area of our seabed dredged for aggregates each year is around 138Km², 0.016 of the UK seabed.
  

• Since 1999 MPA members producing aggregates and mineral products have reduced HSE-reportable injuries by 80% and in the last five years the cement industry has reduced the number of Lost Time Injuries by 70%.
  

• The industry directly employs around 27,000 people and direct and indirect employment exceeds 60,000.
  
  
• Around 0.13% of our local area is used for aggregate extraction.  MPA figures indicate that the rate of land restored exceeds the new land prepared for quarrying.
  
  
• The UK mineral products industry is a world leader in terms of the quality of its land restoration work.  MPA’s restoration award scheme has been running for 40 years to recognise outstanding restoration.
  
  
• MPA members are committed to further improvements in biodiversity and the MPA actively supports the Nature After Minerals initiative.
  
  
• More than 700 Sites of Special Scientific Interest have their origins in mineral operations.
  
  
• MPA members planted 129,799 trees and 9.05km of hedgerows and built 3.6km of dry stone walls in 2008.
  
  
• The number of industry sites operating with certified environmental management systems continues to increase.  The proportion of surveyed aggregates quarries and cement, asphalt and ready-mixed concrete plants with certified EMS was 77%, 100%, 84% and 68% respectively.
  
  
• The cement industry recorded a 40% reduction in absolute CO2 emissions between 1990 and 2008.
  
  
• The concrete industry already significantly exceeds the Government’s 2012 target for the Responsible Sourcing of construction materials.
  
  
• The cement industry has significantly reduced its use of fossil fuels by the use of waste derived fuels, which now account for 26% (thermal) of fuel use.
  
  
• The average road delivery distances for aggregates, asphalt and ready-mixed concrete in 2008 were 38km, 29km and 8.7km respectively. 17% of aggregates (about 32 million tonnes) are moved by non-road modes.  14% of cement is moved by rail.
  
  
• In 2008 there were 240 liaison groups recorded in aggregates quarries, 41 cement liaison group meetings, the number of visitors to aggregates quarries was 12,586 and there were 8,489 visitors to cement kiln sites.
  
  
• Latest figures show 120 archaeological investigations underway at MPA member sites.