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Nah, that's chalk, not gypsum!

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Could be the beginning of a new industry - Re-introduction of blackboards and chalk for schools in order to give teachers something to throw at the pupils.....that's the stockpile of chalk.

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british gypsum from Gotham stock piling - transported by chinook helicopter at night

ski- run?

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Calls to remove the ‘Alps of Watnall’

AN ENORMOUS pile of gypsum waste in Watnall has been branded ‘an abhorrent blot on the landscape’ by a local resident.

The huge pile of waste – nicknamed the Alps of Watnall – has got so big over the last few months, it can be seen from the motorway and the hills in the village.

Resident John Smith said: “If you go to any raised part of Watnall and look over you can see the whole horizon is dominated by this white slag heap. It’s massive. A monstrosity.”

But Broxtowe Borough Council this week defended Fernwood Fuels – the firm responsible for the waste – saying the gypsum waste was legally allowed to be there and reassured residents it was not toxic.

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That's odd calling it gypsum waste, when I worked for BG we had no waste, every bit mined went into the manufacture of plasterboard, that was at East Leake. Gotham's went to make bagged finishing plaster and browning.

Gypsum is harmless both to the environment and humans.

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Gypsum (Calcium sulphate) is used in brewing to raise the acidity and hardness of the water. This improves keeping qualities, clarity, trub formation, hop extraction, astringent flavours are buffered and yeast is more vigorous. Nottingham ale was world famous and Shipstone's ales provided IPA for the British army in India during the Raj. Nottingham shares similar water qualities to Burton.

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I remember being told that marl, the brown clay above the gypsum was also mined and used ground to a powder, on Notts County Cricket Club wickets.

Gypsum is also sold as a soil conditioner, it also prevents the rot on tomatoes. Been using it for years for that one. Last time I checked it was a lot more than Calcium Carbonate, there's also sulphates in the Notts beds, It was those that combined with water to form Sulphuric Acid that attacked the shaft linings of Cotgrave Colliery number one shaft causing a catastrophic failure of the lining in the development of that colliery.

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Made 5 galls of beer today - adding 1oz of Gypsum to the mash to increase acidity. I must bring a bucket and shovel next time I visit Notts. - Gypsum costs a quid for 4oz in homebrew shops.

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  • 2 weeks later...

As I understand it, the gypsum waste is in fact "flue gas gypsum" which is a waste bye product of gas fired power stations. Ayupmeducks is correct in stating that British Gypsum tend to use everything they mine in the making of plasterboard and bagged plaster. Even scrapped production waste is recycled. BG also add flue gas gypsum (or DSG - "de-sulphurised gypsum") to their product so it may come to pass that the "Alps of Watnall" gets carted off to East Leake at some point to be turned into something useful!

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I recall HM mines Inspector calling gypsum "white gold" when I worked at Marblaegis Mine....Not that it was white down that mine, more a red/brown in colour, although there were lumps that were white... The brown marl gives plasterboard's sandwich of plaster it's pinkish colour.

There's a good article on BG's site about power station flue gypsum is reused in plasterboard, how much per year they use etc..

If you want to prevent "blossom end rot" on tomatoes, add gypsum to the soil around your toamato vines, it does work too!! I get it on mine unless I use gypsum, seems my soil is deficient in some mineral or other.

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That's odd, Gypsum is used as a 'clay breaker' but according to the extract below, has no effect on soil pH. Blossom end rot occurs when there is a lack of Magnesium in the soil leading to Calcium imbalance. Is your soil heavy clay perchance?

<Quote from http://www.back-to-basics.net/efu/pdfs/pH.pdf >

Liming materials are materials that contain calcium and/or magnesium in forms, which when dissolved, will

neutralize soil acidity. Not all materials which contain calcium and magnesium are capable of reducing soil

acidity. For instance, gypsum (CaSO4) contains Ca in appreciable amounts, but does not reduce soil acidity.

The reason it does not is because when gypsum hydrolyzes in the soil, it converts to a strong base and a

strong acid as shown in the following equation:

CaSO4 + 2H2O = Ca (OH)2 + H2SO4

These two products formed, Ca(OH2) and H2SO4, neutralize each other and the result is a neutral soil effect. <End quote>

Epsom salts is the normal treatment for blossom end rot. <Wiki Quote> magnesium sulphate is a chemical compound containing magnesium, sulphur and oxygen, with the formula MgSO4. It is often encountered as the heptahydrate epsomite (MgSO4·7H2O), commonly called Epsom salt <End quote>

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