Quarrying firms in Northern Ireland have experienced a sharp increase in output during the first three months of 2011.
Production industries, including mining and quarrying, saw a quarterly growth of 2.2 per cent, The Belfast Telegraph reports.
This compares favourably with the UK as a whole, where the rate of growth was a more modest 0.8 per cent.
In addition, food and tobacco manufacturing also saw growth, with output rising by 1.2 per cent compared to the 0.8 per cent seen across the UK as a whole.
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment told the newspaper that the results were "encouraging".
In Lincoln, the local Cathedral is currently lobbying the council to try and have a new 2.6-acre stretch of quarry opened up near the city.
Lincoln Cathedral bosses says that supplies of limestone in the area are dwindling and they need to secure more to carry out essential maintenance work.
Typical Guttridge equipment used in the quarrying industry includes:
