Quarrying: benefits and problems

1. Read carefully the newspaper extract.

Residents plan protest in

bid to stop application
for Quarrying
Several Naxxar and Mosta residents are
mounting a stiff stand in a bid to stop an
application for the resumption of quarrying
activity near a residential area which lies partly
in Naxxar and partly in Mosta. People living in
the area are signing a petition to be presented to
ERA which is considering a permit for
quarrying to resume.
Residents say the quarry behind their backyard
would make their homes worthless. “the way
the quarry is surrounded by houses means that
dust will be flying in people’s houses with wind
from every direction” one resident said.
be turned into a recreational area once quarrying
is completed in ten years time. “Malta is going
through a rapid stage of development and there
is urgent need for stone especially hard stone,
known as Tal-Qawwi, to be mixed with cement
to make concrete”.
The Naxxar local council is against the proposal
to re-activate the quarry but the owner is ready
to improve and widen local roads of the area to
meet the heavy traffic. The owner is insisting
with ERA that quarrying provides jobs to the
local people and provides raw material which is
necessary for the national economy.

The owner of the quarry is promising that no The Malta Times

explosives will be used to blast rocks and that
the landscape will be restored and the site will

a. What type of rock will be quarried at the proposed site?

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Geography Option
1
 b. Describe the possible impacts of the quarry to the people living close by.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

c. What will the quarry owners do to reduce inconvenience to the residents and damage to the
environment?

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

d. Fill in the boxes below with the benefits of quarrying.

Benefits of Quarrying

Geography Option
2
2. Read carefully all the following newspaper extracts. Try to find out as many problems created by
quarrying. Write them down on the figure entitled Problems of Quarrying.

ERA stops illegal quarrying around prehistoric temples

MEPA has stopped illegal quarrying work around the prehistoric temples of Mnajdra and Ħaġar
Qim. MEPA officers confirmed after an inspection that the quarry was operating 20 metres
outside its boundary. The area has at least four sites of archaeological importance including
Ħaġar Qim, Mnajdra, the Magħlaq Catacoms and il-Misqa tanks.

Unique Species threatened by rubble

MEPA officers failed to take action over tones of rubble dumped by a quarry owner. The locality is
renowned for its unique plant species including rare orchids that are unique in the world.

Gozo court orders firm to stop quarrying

The quarry at il-Qortin ta’ Isopu, limits of Nadur, is located in one of the most fertile parts of
Gozo. Springs are coming straight from under the quarry and once the top hard rock where the
water is stored is cut, the natural process is unbalanced. The water is not stored but gravitates at
a much faster rate towards the sea and lost. The court yesterday ordered the company to stop
quarrying land at il-Qortin before it would be too late to grant farmers a remedy if the water
supply was deviated and lost. The farmers claimed the quarry and resultant pollution was affecting
the supply of spring water, reducing it and rendering it unfit for crop irrigation.

Where quarries turned areas into lunar landscape

Quarries around Mqabba have turned the area into a lunar landscape of deep holes and mountains of
spoil. Old quarries become flooded with water and are dangerous. In Gozo, Għajn Abdul plateau
has been reduced to a deep hole. Almost all that is left of the original garigue vegetation (xagħri)
is buried under dust, and what have been the oldest inhabited site on the Maltese Islands – caves
at the edge of the plateau – was obliterated by blasting.


Council residents, vow to fight quarry extension. Residents of Ta’ l-Ibraġ complained yesterday
about the increase in the number of heavy lorries through the narrow roads of the village. This is
causing noise throughout the day and sometimes even at night and raising large quantities of dust.


ERA stops illegal quarrying

ERA yesterday stopped illegal quarrying close to Għar il-Kbir and Clapham Junction. The site is an
area of archaeological importance.

Geography Option
3
 Negative Impact of Quarrying

Geography Option
4
4. Describe how quarries may be used after quarrying has ended. The photos below may give you some
ideas.

_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

5. By referring to local exampes show how limestone quarrying has a negative impact on people, the
natural environment and wildlife.

_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

Geography Option
5