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to limestone
How do we use limestone and minerals
For many hundreds of years, people have extracted the rocks and minerals of the Peak District for a wide range of uses.
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A pig of lead with Roman inscription, found at Brough, Bradwell |
The value of these natural resources has fluctuated over time. In Roman-Britain, lead was highly prized as it was easy to shape and could be put to many uses, including developing the first plumbing systems. For hundreds of years, limestone has been used as a building stone - for houses, barns and walls. Today, limestone is valued for its usefulness as a roadstone and because of the chemical properties of the calcium carbonate it contains.
To find out more about how people use the Peak District limestone and minerals today explore the table below:
Rock or Mineral
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Uses |
| Limestone |
- Aggregate or crushed rock for road making
- Cement production
- Fertilizer
- Chemical production
- A filler for powdered products
- Glass making
- Electricity production
- Building stone
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Fluorspar
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- Non-stick coating on pans
- Sodium fluoride added to tap water and toothpaste
- To make hydrofluoric acid
- As a propellant gas in aerosol sprays
- In plastics, optical lenses, glass fibre, fire extinguishers
- Steel production and preparation of uranium
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| Barite |
- Paper and paint manufacture
- Drilling mud for oil wells
- As a shield for radioactive sources
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Calcite
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- White lines for roads
- Aggregate
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Galena
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- Rust proof paint
- Car batteries
- Shielding for radioactive sources
- Flashing on roofs
- As a solder
- Bullets and lead shot
- In pewter manufacture
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There have been many past uses for the rocks and minerals of the Peak District. To find out more about history of mining and quarrying go to the time section on industry.
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