Europe's only underground sand mine to boost output

New equipment has been installed at the Lochaline site to help boost production

Production at Europe's only underground sand mine is set to be doubled following new investment.

Sand from Lochaline Quartz Sand (LQS) is used in making windows, glass containers and ceramics.

Public agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has provided £230,000 towards the £850,000 cost of new equipment to separate iron from the sand to improve its quality.

LQS employs about 40 people.

HIE supported a £1m expansion of the company in 2017, which created nine new jobs.

Elaine Jones, senior development manager with HIE's Lochaber, Skye and Wester Ross team, said: "This latest initiative will provide further security for the business and its employees, while keeping to LQS's environmental principles."

LQS chief executive Diego Zurolo added: "Running the only underground sand mine in Europe in a remote location like Lochaline can be challenging.

"In the past two years we have been exploring methods to make the quality of our sand more consistent at high production levels."

The sand is of a high quality for making glass due to its high silica content and lack of impurities.

Its value was first spotted in the 1800s, but the remote location made mining uneconomical at that time.

During World War Two, sand was mined at Lochline on the Morvern peninsula for the manufacture of aircraft bombsights and submarine periscopes.