With planning permission obtained, funding secured and with the consent of the local community council, the first 30 tonnes of Scottish slate to be extracted in 50 years have been taken from a Ballachulish quarry.

The last Scottish slate mine closed in the 1950s and since then reclaimed slate has been gradually making its way off the roofs of lesser buildings and on to the roofs of listed buildings and those in conservation areas.

But it is estimated that 40% of material is being lost every time a roof is removed - a position which is clearly unsustainable.

The Scottish Stone Liaison Group (SSLG) identified a return to commercial slate production in Scotland as one of its priorities early on and has been working to secure a package to bring slate back into production for two years.

A test extraction plan was in place within seven months of the official launch of SSLG in 2000. But the outbreak of Foot & Mouth Disease last year put the whole project on hold.

It was resumed earlier this year.

Funding was obtained from the Highland Council, Lochaber Enterprise and Historic Scotland and, following extensive discussions with the Ballachulish & Glencoe Community Council, slate was quarried in August.

Using black powder charges, compressed air tools and diamond saws, 30 tonnes of slate have been extracted from the Ballachulish quarry and will be processed into roofing slates.

The slates produced will be analysed by Dr Joan Walsh at the University of Paisley. She was the author of the Historic Scotland Technical Advice Note 21 entitled Scottish Slate Quarries, which identified and examined previous quarries and slate areas.

A report should be produced in December, when SSLG representatives will meet again with the local Community Council to discuss the implications of the conclusions.