Sam Rowlands, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, has welcomed news that expansion plans mean more jobs at Welsh Slate quarries in his region.
The company is expanding its operations at the former Penrhyn Quarry near Bethesda and around Blaenau Ffestiniog, creating new jobs for young people in North Wales.
Mr Rowlands said:
I recently had the opportunity to visit the Welsh Slate/Breedon site at Bethesda, and see at first hand how the site operated.
Roofing slate has been quarried there since the 13th Century. It was fascinating to see how it has evolved and great to see that demand for this Welsh commodity is on the up.
It is also great to hear that they are now looking for young people to get involved with this industry and I am delighted they are working with local colleges and schools to encourage apprenticeship schemes.
North Wales’ slate quarries roofed the world during the industrial revolution and into the early 20th century, and I am really pleased that demand for North Welsh slate is increasing.
Plans to extract 250,000 tonnes of Penrhyn purple slate were approved in November, extending the life of the quarry to the end of 2035.
The company is offering a total of 29 jobs, 10 of them will be at Penrhyn, which already employs 115 people. The remaining 19 jobs will be at the Ffestiniog and Cwt y Bugail quarries, near Blaenau Ffestiniog, which reopen at the end of January after being closed for more than a decade.
Welsh Slate operates an industrial minerals plant in Blaenau Ffestiniog already, with full extraction to restart on January 23. The slate will be processed at Penrhyn and Cwt-y-Bugail, another slate quarry with a production history going back to 1840.
For hundreds of years Welsh quarries have produced heather (purple) or blue-grey slate, considered by many to be the best natural slate in the world.
Sam Rowlands AS yn falch o weld galw cynyddol am lechi Cymru
Mae Sam Rowlands, Aelod o’r Senedd dros Ogledd Cymru, wedi croesawu'r newyddion am gynlluniau ehangu Welsh Slate sy'n golygu mwy o swyddi yn chwareli'r rhanbarth.
Mae'r cwmni'n ehangu ei weithrediadau yn hen Chwarel y Penrhyn ger Bethesda ac yn ardal Blaenau Ffestiniog, gan greu swyddi newydd i bobl ifanc y Gogledd.
Dywedodd Mr Rowlands:
Yn ddiweddar, cefais gyfle i ymweld â safle Welsh Slate/Breedon ym Methesda, a gweld y gwaith â'm llygaid fy hun.
Mae llechi ar gyfer toi wedi'u cloddio yno ers y drydedd ganrif ar ddeg. Roedd hi mor ddiddorol gweld sut mae wedi esblygu ac yn wych gweld bod mwy o alw am y deunydd Cymreig hwn.
Mae hefyd yn wych clywed eu bod rwan yn chwilio am bobl ifanc i ymuno â'r diwydiant hwn a dwi'n falch iawn eu bod nhw'n gweithio gyda cholegau ac ysgolion lleol i annog cynlluniau prentisiaeth.
Chwareli llechi'r Gogledd wnaeth gyflenwi toeau'r byd yn ystod y chwyldro diwydiannol a dechrau'r ugeinfed ganrif, a dwi'n falch iawn o weld y cynnydd yn y galw am lechi Gogledd Cymru.
Cymeradwywyd cynlluniau i echdynnu 250,000 tunnell o lechi porffor y Penrhyn ym mis Tachwedd, gan ymestyn oes y chwarel hyd at ddiwedd 2035.
Mae'r cwmni yn cynnig cyfanswm o 29 o swyddi, 10 ohonyn nhw yn y Penrhyn, sydd eisoes yn cyflogi 115 o bobl. Bydd y 19 o swyddi eraill yn chwareli Ffestiniog a Chwt y Bugail, ger Blaenau Ffestiniog, sy'n ailagor ddiwedd Ionawr ar ôl bod ar gau am ddegawd a mwy.
Mae Welsh Slate eisoes yn rhedeg ffatri mwynau diwydiannol ym Mlaenau Ffestiniog, a bydd y gwaith echdynnu llawn yn ailgychwyn ar 23 Ionawr. Bydd y llechi'n cael eu prosesu ym Mhenrhyn a Chwt y Bugail, chwarel lechi arall sydd â hanes cynhyrchu sy'n dyddio'n ôl i 1840.
Ers cannoedd o flynyddoedd mae chwareli Cymru wedi cynhyrchu llechfaen lliw grug (porffor) neu lwydlas, sy'n cael ei hystyried gan lawer fel y llechen naturiol orau yn y byd.
