Minerat - it is a small, privately owned company that works Tearsall, not one of the big companies, hence the 1970/80's expansion of the site to limestone extraction to finance themselves. The Peak Park Authority told us at the time we objected to the site being worked without planning consent, that when consent was eventually granted it was under the open ended original 1951 Planning Act which many sites in the Peak District were worked under, still are, and against which the Peak Park had few powers of restraint. No longer living in the area I'm not up to date on mineral planning law, so please correct me if I'm wrong or if there have been admendments to the Act. The firm was originally based in Cromford and worked an opencast site in a wood above Alabaster sough. I assume that with Glebe mines having obtained planning consent for the new application for the extraction of fluorspar, Glebe mines will have paid for the planning application process and the owners of Tearsall entered into contract to sell the opencasted material to them. Incidently which nearby disused limestone quarry were you thinking of?
Toadstone - many thanks for the recent Derbyshire snow photos in the Snow Photo competion, especially the one south of the Saltway and west of the Portway. Glad to see the site restored.