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Cornwall’s china clay mining industry is playing a "big part" in the A30 Chiverton to Carland Cross upgrade, National Highways has said.

Contractors Costain Jacobs and supply chain Aggregate Industries are tapping into natural Cornish materials for the 8.7-mile duelling scheme. Larger infrastructure projects typically use millions of tonnes of aggregate – representing a large carbon footprint – but the A30 project is using a by-product from the china clay mining sector for construction.

The residue, known as stent, would normally have no use and be left in white spoil heaps. Instead, the material from the Littlejohns Pit near St Austell is being processed into sustainable secondary sand and aggregate for building work. According to National Highways, compared to the 5kg carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per tonne carbon emission of virgin aggregate, the locally imported material is around 2kg CO2e per tonne.

Aggregate Industries has also invested more than £4m in the nearby Melbur Quarry at St Stephen to produce more carbon-friendly warm-mix asphalt for the new road surfacing. Warm-mix asphalt is a greener process that has less impact on the environment, with reduced hydrocarbon emissions and greenhouse gases. Due to its lower temperature, it is also safer for construction workers to use, National Highways said.

Roads minister Baroness Vere said: “The A30 Chiverton to Carland Cross upgrade will reduce congestion, improve journey times and provide much-needed connection for local businesses. By using natural Cornish materials, we are also ensuring the scheme has a much lower-carbon impact and provides a further boost to the local community, which is exactly the kind of innovation we want to see as we strive towards a net zero road network.”

Nick Simmonds-Screech, National Highways project director for the A30 scheme, said the move towards warm-mix asphalts would allow the organisation to achieve "huge efficiency savings" and reduce carbon.

The road is expected to be open to traffic in the winter of 2023. The £330m scheme is being partly funded by an £8m contribution from the European Regional Development Fund, with an additional £12m for the construction phase. The remainder of the cost is being funded by central government.

John Lee, Costain project director, said: “It’s been good to tap into local skills and materials, we’re making excellent progress with the construction works."