Bardon Quarry SSSI, Leicestershire
Active quarry, exposure site, finite site for mineralisation.
Bardon Hill Quarry SSSI, Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire, is important for its Precambrian volcanic rocks, which form part of the Charnian Supergroup of Leicestershire. The rocks of Charnwood Forest are believed to have formed in a volcanic arc environment in late Precambrian times. At Bardon, the volcanic rocks are interpreted as lava domes which intruded unconsolidated volcanically-derived sediments on the sea floor.
Bardon Hill Quarry is also notified as an SSSI for the occurrence of mineralised quartz veins, containing rare gold, and for copper-vanadium red-bed mineralisation, believed to have formed during the Triassic. At this time, the Precambrian rocks had already been uplifted to form a landmass and had been strongly eroded, prior to deposition of Triassic sediments in a desert environment. A spectacular unconformity between the Precambrian volcanics and Triassic sediments, showing classic wadi features, is also exposed in several parts of the site.
The site is a large active quarry, worked for the hard Precambrian volcanic rocks, by blasting and excavation along a series of wide terraces, by Aggregate Industries UK Ltd. The company encourages educational visits to the site by schools and universities, but prior arrangements for visits should always be made.
