Chalk mining is the

extraction Extraction may refer to: Science and technology Biology and medicine * Comedo extraction, a method of acne treatment * Dental extraction, the surgical removal of a tooth from the mouth Computing and information science * Data extraction, the pro ...

of chalk from underground and above ground deposits by mining. Mined chalk is used mostly to make cement and

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

s. Chalk mining was widespread in Britain in the 19th century because of the large amount of construction underway (and the Industrial Revolution). Some chalk mines were extensively large, with passages up to high and wide, their passages taking the form of a Norman arch. Because of chalk's softness, picks and shovels were used to excavate tunnels. Stepped slabs were dug into the chalk, allowing many miners to dig at the same time. Care had to be taken to avoid collapse, and places in which the chalk was soft were simply abandoned. A link was reported in the United Kingdom in 2017 between sinkholes opening up and the location of former chalk mines. The softness of chalk, as well as rain and erosion, has caused the ground in some places to collapse into the remnants of ancient chalk mines and tunnels.

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{{Portal bar, Earth sciences

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Chalk mines in the UK

See also

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