Lochaline Silica Mine, Lochaline 1973

Tucked beneath the rugged hills of Morvern on the west coast of Scotland lies one of the country’s most unusual and important industrial sites—the Lochaline Silica Sand Mine. Set beside the calm waters of Loch Aline, this mine is the only underground silica sand mine in the UK and one of the few in Europe.

The mine began operations in 1940, during World War II, when the war cut off access to high-quality silica from mainland Europe. With its exceptionally pure white sandstone—perfect for making glass for optical instruments like periscopes—the site became vital to the Allied war effort. Rather than quarrying from the surface, the mine was carefully developed underground using a room-and-pillar system, protecting the environment above while extracting only the purest central layers of sand.

Over the decades, Lochaline sand was used in everything from lab glassware to solar panels. After a brief closure in 2008, the mine was revived in 2012 by Lochaline Quartz Sand Ltd, a partnership between international glass and mineral firms. Today, it produces up to 140,000 tonnes of sand a year, much of it destined for high-tech glass and solar energy industries.