The sand and gravel resources of the country around Billinghay, Lincolnshire : description of 1:25,000 sheets TF 15 and part of TF 05

The geological maps of the Institute of Geological Sciences, pre-existing borehole information, and 80 boreholes drilled for the Industrial Minerals Assessment Unit form the basis of the assessment of the sand and gravel resources of the country around Billinghay, Lincolnshire. The survey confirmed the existence of a broad, buried valley beneath the alluvial sediments of the present Witham floodplain. Sands and gravels up to 16.1 m thick, divisible into an upper flint and limestone unit and a lower quartzitic unit, infill this sub-alluvial valley. Less extensive patches of sand and gravel were also found on the flanks of the Witham floodplain. The deposits of the resource sheet area are divided into six resource blocks containing between 2.5 and 15.9 km2 of potentially workable sand and gravel. For each block the geology of the deposits is described and the mineral-bearing area, the mean thickness of overburden and mineral, and the mean grading of the mineral are stated. Detailed borehole data are given. The geology, the position of the boreholes and the outlines of the resource blocks are shown on the accompanying Map.