Lovell Stone Group, which operates various dimension stone quarries in the South of England and has taken over operation of the Bath stone underground quarry of Hartham Park this year, likes to encourage young people to consider the natural stone industry as a career and understand better the amazing opportunities it provides.

To that end, it has welcomed Cole Runnalls to its Hartham Park underground quarry in Corsham, Wiltshire.

Cole is a placement student from the Camborne School of Mines, which is part of Exeter University. He has just completed his second year of a three-year mining engineering degree and will be with Lovell for two months, gaining experience and insight into how an underground quarry (otherwise known as a mine) operates and how the stone is extracted.

Lovell says that, as an industry, stone companies should do more to encourage the next generation to consider quarrying, as well as stonemasonry, as a career in order to secure the future for generations to come.

• You can read more about Lovell Stone Group's developments at Hartham Park in the July/August issue of Natural Stone Specialist magazine.