Steetley Magnasite
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Steetley Magnasite by philld as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
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Image: © philld Taken: 21 Sep 2008
Sea water was pumped to the Magnesium plant. Steetley extracted magnesia from sea water by reacting it with dolomite. Hartlepool was selected as the site for the factory because of its location close to the high purity dolomite deposits at Coxhoe and the fact that the seawater was of consistent quality and free from dilution by fresh river water. It was also near the Durham coalfield which provided the fuel for the kilns. Refractory grade magnesia is used in the manufacture of refractory bricks, tiles and gunning materials for application in steel, cement and non-ferrous industries. Chemical grade magnesia is used in the manufacture of rubber, plastics, leather, oil, paper pulp and fertilisers. Steetley closed in 2005 after two failed attempts to keep it going. For many more pictures see http://www.flickr.com/photos/phill_dvsn/sets/72157607430523856/detail/
Image Location
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