ALF IndexIndustry / Mining / MineralsOther minerals besides coal have been worked in Ayrshire, notably ironstone: this was worked in the Doon valley and the Garnock valley, where it nurtured the iron and steel industry. At Gasswater, above Auchinleck, barytes was mined for many years in the 20th Century. Limestone was regularly quarried and burned to provide agricultural lime, and a number of lime kilns throughout the county bear testimony to this such as the one at Dunure. However, the boats taking coal to Ireland needed a return cargo, and Irish lime, essentially used as ballast, proved better and cheaper. The processing of salt from seawater has a long history too in Ayrshire, but died out in the 1860s but lives on in some of our place names –Saltcoats, and buildings, such as the Salt Pans in Prestwick. Images have been allocated into the following categories and subcategories. |
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