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Laverock Braes

Aberdeen, Bridge of Don, Middleton Park, Aberdeenshire.

Quarry (flooded) and nearby mine (infilled).

Manganese was extracted at Laverock Braes quarry near Bridge of Don, Aberdeen, in the first half of the 19th century. At this time, manganese constituted an ingredient for the preparation of bleaching agent for cloth or was used as a chemical purifier for glass manufacturing. Overall production estimates for this mine are scarce though 1955 tons of ore were excavated by 1809, before its closure in the 1820s and reopening in the 1840s. [Josso & Lusty, 2023]

The [Laverock Braes] parkland area features a now flooded quarry and there was also an earlier manganese mine where Danestone Congregational Church now stands. Amongst various uses it is essential as an alloy in the production of aluminium, iron, and steel. It is believed to have been used at the foundry of Grandholm Mills. [ACC]

Alternative Names: Laverock Braes Mine, Laverockbraes

Notes: The given location is for the quarry, whilst the mine was located at NJ 9182 1021.

The manganese ore occurs in migmatitised psammitic and semipelitic metasedimentary rocks of the Aberdeen Formation and is described as 'irregular beds, rounded concretions, or anastomosing films in the rock, accompanied by small quantities of sulphates of barytes'. Located on the edge of the Ordovician Aberdeen Pluton, a two-mica granitic intrusion, the quarry shows presence of minor sheets and veins of granite within the metasedimentary rocks hosting the ore, though no clear genetic relationship has been established between the ore and the intrusion. [Josso & Lusty, 2023]

2016 excavations along the north-south trench or platform at Laverockbraes revealed no sign of either an adit entrance or any sort of underground working... The locality has been variously described as a 'mine', 'quarry' and 'workings'. Considerable excavation on the hill slope revealed no evidence of underground operations and the author concurs with the observation made during a visit by staff of the British Geological Survey in 1942, who suggested that the trench at right angles to the main face was probably cuttomake a platform or bench onto which the ore would be placed before it was carted away... Recent rescue collecting at Laverockbraes has produced some of the finest crystallised specimens of manganite known from the British Isles. The mineralisation at the now-landscaped site has been recorded, its history summarised, and representative specimens analysed and added to museum collections... The site is now 'lost to collecting', it has been landscaped and grassed and there are no visible rock outcrops. It is surrounded by private housing and forms part of an attractive recreational area. [McMullen, 2019]