A NUMBERS game of eight million tonnes of rock and 40 years of work will add up to around £440,000 for Crossgates as a quarry extension gets underway.

There is a long road ahead as Collier Quarrying and Recycling Ltd plan to extract an average of 200,000 tonnes of premium quality rock every year up until 2060 and they'll dig deep for the local community too by handing over £12,000 for each year of operation.

Goathill Quarry, at Easter Bucklyvie which is between Crossgates and Aberdour, contains quartz dolerite which is used for improving existing roads and building new ones, while they also supply aggregates, sand and concrete for construction and housebuilding.

Fife Council granted the firm an extension last month and said that work - which also includes consent for a waste transfer station, composting operation, five settlement ponds, a storage shed, testing laboratory and a concrete batching plant - has now started.

Colliers bought the site and obtained permission in 2010 to operate the quarry for 15 years until 2025, with a further 18 months for restoration.

Last month Fife Council agreed to extend that to 2060.

The long-term aim, after operations have ceased, is to restore the land and turn the area into a country park.

Colliers have agreed a £902,000 bond to guarantee that funds will be in place to carry out this work.

They will also pay for or fix any road verge damage on the B925 that's attributable to quarry traffic.

While the quarry extension got the go-ahead, plans to build a house on the site were refused.