About
Stonecastle Quarry
Stonecastle Quarry is a sand and gravel quarry in Five Oak Green, near Tonbridge, Kent.
Extraction of sand and gravel from the site began in 1981. In recent years due to the recession and subsequent lack of demand, we temporarily suspended operations. Tarmac plan to reopen the quarry in September 2021, now that market conditions have improved, and demand has returned.
Sand and gravel are used to provide essential products for the construction industry, either on its own or made into products such as ready-mix concrete and blocks. Our materials are used to construct homes, schools, roads and hospitals.
Sand and gravel quarries are generally much shallower than hard rock quarries and no blasting is required to extract the aggregate. They are usually worked and restored in phases as this minimises the area exposed at any time and limits the time that the land is out of use for other productive purposes.
Sand and gravel are commonly extracted by a mobile excavator and transported to a processing plant using a dump truck, where it is washed to remove fine sand and clay (silt). Sand separated during this process is then dried and stockpiled.
The gravel extracted in this process is passed over a series of screens that sift the material into different sizes. The gravels are then placed into separate stockpiles.
The plant site is always in proximity to freshwater and silt lagoons that are created as a source of water to wash the sand and to dispose of the silt. The finished aggregate products are then loaded onto trucks for delivery to customers.
About Tarmac
Tarmac, a CRH company, is the UK's leading sustainable building materials and construction solutions business.
With 150 years of experience and heritage to our name, we're a national network of local businesses, combining the knowledge and expertise of two of the construction industry's most iconic brands: Tarmac, pioneers and inventors of the modern road, and Blue Circle, the company that patented Portland Cement.
We employ around 7,000 people across a network of more than 400 sites across the UK
Tarmac is part of CRH, the world's leading building materials business