Mieral Products Associatio AMPS 7 6th Aual Mieral Plaig Survey Report
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The 6th Aual Mieral Plaig Survey, AMPS 7, has bee produced agaist the backdrop of a further icrease i demad for aggregates durig 6, with crushed rock sales beig more tha double that of sad ad gravel sales across Great Britai. Demad for sad ad gravel cotiues to outstrip the amout of ew reserves beig permitted, with the -year average repleishmet rate for lad wo sad ad gravel remaiig low at 6%. Durig 6, ewly coseted sad ad gravel reserves oly represeted % of aual sales. I the case of crushed rock, whilst the -year average repleishmet rate remais above %, the ew reserves permitted i 6 were less tha the aual sales for the fourth cosecutive year. This sigals that the log-term reserve base upo which the aggregates sector is so depedat cotiues to remai uder pressure. The umber of applicatios for ew mieral submitted by the idustry remais comparatively low. Lack of pla coverage, which creates ivestmet ucertaity, the cotiuig impact of the recessio ad the cumulative costs of obtaiig permissios ad permits are likely to be cotributory factors. Further evidece of the log-term stress that is beig placed o these importat mieral reserves ca be foud i the latest British Geological Survey Aggregate Moitorig survey for Eglad ad Wales (AM4) which shows that total lad wo aggregate reserves have reduced by 44% over the period to 4. O a year average the time take to determie a mieral plaig applicatio (excludig pre-applicatio discussio) is 7 moths for sad ad gravel ad 6. moths for crushed rock. Icludig pre-applicatio discussios, the time exteds to 3 ad 3 moths respectively, although the overall time take i applicatio preparatio through to implemetig a coset ca be sigificatly loger. Typically, it takes betwee 5 to 5 years to covert sites from exploratio ito active operatioal sites. There is a clear desire from local authorities ad from idustry that the Natioal Guidelies idetifyig the quatum of mierals required to meet future demad eed to be updated ad applied to support the Maaged Aggregate Supply System (MASS). The absece of a top-dow approach results i icosistecies ad tesios betwee mieral plaig authorities ad AWPs, which i tur creates ucertaity for idustry i committig to log term developmets. THE KEY FINDINGS OF THE REPORT ARE: Sales total sales of lad-wo sad ad gravel ad crushed rock by MPA members i GB icreased by.5% ad 5.3% respectively i 6, reflectig cotiued growth i overall costructio ad ecoomic activity. Repleishmet of sad ad gravel reserves oly % of sales i 6 were repleished through ew permissios. The rollig -year average for the repleishmet of lad-wo sad ad gravel reserves remais low at 6%, idicatig that sales cotiue to outstrip the amout of ew reserves permitted. Repleishmet of crushed rock reserves the -year average for repleishmet of crushed rock reserves was 7% i 6, uchaged from the previous year. However, for the fourth cosecutive year, the aual repleishmet of ew reserves of crushed rock has bee less tha the aual sales. Oly 6% of 6 sales were replaced by ew crushed rock cosets. New reserves i recet years are domiated by three major cosets that also illustrate the geographic cocetratio of rock resources i the Midlads, South West ad Scotlad. Next year will see the sigificat ifluece of the Scottish reserves coseted i 7 drop out of the -year average. Numbers of plaig applicatios there has bee a decrease i submissios for sad ad gravel i 6 (3 sites) compared to 5 ( sites), the majority beig for extesios at existig operatios. The umber of crushed rock applicatios icreased (5 compared to 4 i 5). A further 3 (49 i 5) applicatios were made for time extesios, S73 applicatios ad similar matters to maitai existig operatios. Appeals as with the previous years members have idicated that o appeals were lodged or determied i 6. Numbers of plaig decisios the umber of determiatios for mieral applicatios cotiue to be relatively low (a total of 9 approvals ad refusals, across both sad ad gravel ad crushed rock sites) compared to the heights of 8/9 (3+ sites), ad a reductio of 9 o the previous year. Time take to obtai permissio it takes 3 ad 3 moths respectively to secure permissio for both sad ad gravel ad crushed rock reserves, based o a -year average. The data for 6 suggests that sad ad gravel determiatios took 4 moths less tha for applicatios determied i 5. The sad ad gravel data also show that the time to issue cosets postcommittee determiatio has icreased, perhaps a partial reflectio of decreasig local plaig authority resources ad icreasig complexity ad iformatio requiremets. Numbers of Core Strategies/ Developmet Plas adopted The 4 Plaig ad Compulsory Purchase Act required that full pla coverage be i place withi 3 years. However, to the start of September 7 87 out of 8 (73.7%) Eglish Local Plaig Authorities had a adopted Core Strategy/Local Pla, with out of 5 (84%) Welsh Local Authorities havig a adopted Local Developmet Pla. Pla Allocatios Over the past years, 48% of ew permissios issued were for sites that had ot bee allocated i mieral plas. I 6 the figure was 44%.
INTRODUCTION AMPS 7 is the latest i a series of aual reports produced by the Mieral Products Associatio (MPA), based upo a survey of the plaig activities of the membership across Great Britai i 6. MPA members are resposible for % of UK cemet productio, 9% of GB aggregates productio, 95% of asphalt ad over 7% of ready-mixed cocrete ad precast cocrete productio. It also represets other essetial primary materials such as idustrial sad, lime, ad dimesio stoe. The objective of the AMPS survey is to update ad report aual statistics that are relevat to the mieral plaig processes withi Great Britai. These processes support the delivery of the permitted reserves which ultimately sustai the mierals idustry ad those activities that rely o it, primarily costructio ad maufacturig. Attetio is draw to other reports produced by the MPA which evidece the Sustaiable Developmet performace of the idustry, the cotributio it makes to the UK Ecoomy, ad other idustry achievemets i relatio to quarry restoratio ad biodiversity. Most of the data relate oly to costructio aggregates, which represet by far the largest elemet of mieral extractio activity i Great Britai. The plaig applicatio statistics relate to all plaig applicatios submitted by MPA members ad iclude data for aggregates ad other mierals (soft sad, high PSV ad idustrial materials such as cemet, clay, dimesio stoe ad silica sad). Each figure sets out the scope of the iformatio that is preseted ad the variatios betwee the topics reflect the historical data that ca be draw upo. This is pricipally because the AMPS report is cotiually evolvig i respose to commets received. Cosequetly, some data has oly bee collected relatively recetly, whilst other data goes back to the 99s. The overall objective is to produce a documet that is useful to all those ivolved i plaig for mierals, primarily aggregates. 3
THE FUTURE OF MINERAL PLANNING AND THE MANAGED AGGREGATE SUPPLY SYSTEM (MASS) The MPA s Log term aggregates demad & supply scearios, 6-3 idicates that a cumulative total of betwee 3. to 3.8 billio toes of costructio aggregates are likely to be required by 3 to support ecoomic growth ad developmet across Great Britai. To secure the supply of these materials will require active maagemet to esure the right resources are made available i the right place ad at the right time. Alogside previous AMPS reports, the latest survey cofirms the cotiued uder repleishmet of reserves i 6 for both lad-wo sad ad gravel ad for crushed rock. The latest data preseted i the Aggregates Moitorig Survey 4 (AM4), udertake by the British Geological Survey o behalf of DCLG ad Welsh Govermet, suggest that this forms part of a loger-term declie, with a 44% reductio i all aggregate reserves i Eglad ad Wales over the period to 4 ad a % reductio sice 5 (see Figure ). Figure : Primary aggregate permitted reserves i Eglad & Wales durig 985-7 8 7 6 Millio toes 5 4 3 985 989 993 997 5 9 4 Eglad Sad & Gravel Eglad Crushed Rock Wales Sad & Gravel Wales Crushed Rock Source: BGS,6.Aggregates Mierals Survey 4 The sigificace of this declie i reserves is brought ito sharp focus whe the wider, multi-phase developmet process that is required to brig a ew aggregate extractio site ito operatio is take ito accout (see Figure ). AMPS oly cosiders the third phase of the wider developmet process, however, the process as a whole, from site assessmet to delivery will typically take betwee 5 ad 5 years to complete; with a complex combiatio of commercial, plaig ad regulatory issues havig to be successfully addressed. This represets a similar time frame to the period over which a 44% reductio i reserves has bee observed. Figure : Site Developmet Process PHASE Idetificatio, provig ad securig a potetial aggregate site (3-5 years); PHASE 3 Applicatio withi the developmet maagemet system to the poit of plaig permissio beig issued (the subject of AMPS) (3 to 5 years); PHASE Puttig forward the site for iclusio i a Local Mieral Pla (3-5 years); PHASE 4 Implemetatio of a plaig permissio (precommecemet coditios) ad securig ecessary evirometal permits from regulators (EA, NE, HE, etc.) to allow extractio to commece ( - years). 4
Aggregates have log bee recogised as essetial materials for our way of life ad shortages i the 97s resulted i the 976 Royal Commissio Aggregates The Way Ahead (The Verey Report). The report s fidigs created the foudatio of a mieral plaig system that has edured effectively for the last 4 years. The uderlyig priciple of a adequate ad steady supply of aggregates for costructio ad the ecoomy has uderpied the mieral plaig system ever sice through the developmet of MASS which historically has bee a top dow predict ad provide system, apportioig future supply requiremets idetified by Natioal Guidelies. However, the cotiued uder repleishmet of reserves reported i AMPS reports idicates that this system is curretly uder strai. As a cosequece, a combiatio of factors, some beig iteral to mieral operators ad others exteral, meas that fewer applicatios appear to be beig brought forward. EXTERNAL FACTORS There is a reducig profile of mieral plaig i cetral govermet (capacity ad expertise), which coicides with a 44% reductio i all aggregate reserves i the period to 4 MASS recogises the eed for aggregates provisio to be plaed, moitored ad maaged. This historically was a top dow predict ad provide system, apportioig supply through Natioal Guidelies. Aggregates Workig Parties (AWPs) have historically esured, through the applicatio of the Natioal Guidelies, that iter-regioal flows maitai a key role i esurig a steady ad adequate supply aroud the coutry. However, with the Natioal Guidelies out of date the former top dow approach has made way for a more bottom up approach relyig o Local Aggregate Assessmets (LAAs) based o historic levels of activity. Evidece ad data are required to iform the preparatio of soud plas which allocate sites for future extractio based o future estimates of eed. Those umbers have historically bee derived from the AMRI surveys, recetly discotiued by ONS, ad the AWPs who are ow wholly depedet upo iformatio preseted i LAAs. The LAAs are backward lookig as mieral plaig authorities ad AWPs are ot equipped to properly cosider future demad ad coordiate supply betwee areas AWPs provide a critical role i coordiatig the delivery of MASS, but have o log-term certaity which reduces their effectiveess. Fudig is ucertai, as is the 4 yearly Aggregate Mierals Survey for Eglad & Wales udertake by the British Geological Survey. INTERNAL FACTORS I geeral, idetifyig ad securig access to workable sad ad gravel resources is becomig more difficult. The regulatory complexity meas that lead-i times for preparig applicatios are growig. developmet rather tha mierals. Cosequetly, there is a reluctace to put lad forward to MLPs. A lack of full Mieral Local Pla (MLP) coverage drives icreased busiess risk ad a lack of cofidece to ivest, particularly give the uderlyig ecoomic ucertaities that exist. A lack of adopted MLPs delays dates i optio cotracts for applicatios to be submitted by operators. O lad teure, there is a shift away from freehold towards leasehold. Cosequetly, gettig ladlord coset to a scheme ca ofte be more difficult tha gettig the plaig permissio itself. O lad use aspiratios, lad owers are icreasigly lookig for higher value Ecoomically, ladower reveue is ot deemed sufficiet from mieral workig. Chagig corporate behaviours, iflueced by the uderlyig ecoomic climate, have resulted i a shift towards shorter term plaig horizos. 5
POTENTIAL OUTCOME Costraits o future supply are already emergig locally, with costructio aggregates havig to travel further to fill gaps i demad, ad these costraits are likely to icrease especially with curret ambitious Govermet policy priorities for housig ad ifrastructure. There is a clear desire from local authorities ad from idustry that the Natioal Guidelies that idetify the mierals required to meet future demad eed to be urgetly updated ad applied. The absece of a top-dow approach creates icosistecies ad, i tur, tesios betwee mieral plaig authorities ad AWPs, hece the eed for cetrally provided demad estimates through Natioal Guidelies. The decliig ifluece of effective cetral govermet cotrol also creates ucertaity for idustry i committig to log term developmets. This is iroic ad perverse give recet Govermet proposals resultig from the Housig White Paper ackowledge the eed for a soud ad cosistet evidece base alogside mechaisms to quatify future housig eeds to support the timely ad effective delivery of local plaig processes for housig. These growig tesios are evideced by the delay ad eve withdrawal of some local mieral plas after several years of developmet. I oe case, this was just prior to it goig through Examiatio due to political cocers aroud overprovisio, because of data preseted i the latest LAA, which is backward lookig over a recessioary period. These delays are costly to both the local tax payer ad to idustry, ad create further doubt ad ucertaity aroud the Pla led system. With up to date Natioal Guidelies there would be a clear ad cosistet startig poit from which to deliver the steady ad adequate supply of aggregates that are required to support log term ecoomic growth ad developmet, as recogised by the Natioal Plaig Policy Framework. WHAT IS NEEDED The basic premise of pla, moitor ad maage remais valid ad is best oversee ad coordiated by DCLG give the atioal characteristics of both the mierals that are beig produced ad the costructio sector that is beig supplied. Reliace o a historical ad localist approach to deliver i isolatio, ievitably risks fragmetig the oce solid foudatio of resources, reserves ad ladbaks which i tur ifluece busiess ivestmet decisios ad impacts upo the cost-effective delivery of housig ad ifrastructure. I order to esure the mieral sectors ability to support the sustaiable delivery of these key Govermet policy areas, there is a urget requiremet to revitalise MASS by providig: Log-term certaity to allow the AWPs to deliver; Log-term commitmet to data collectio (AMRI/AM); Log-term forecasts of future eeds, that will allow future demad to be cosidered cosistetly across all mieral plaig authorities both baselie growth ad to support priority policy areas (housig ad ifrastructure); Top dow leadership by cetral Govermet to provide directio ad cosistecy of approach. 6
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SECTION ONE AGGREGATE SALES AND REPLENISHMENT. SALES Figure 3 has bee derived from sales data provided by MPA members, which typically represets 9% of the total GB primary aggregates market. It shows that primary aggregates sales cotiue to icrease towards 7, pre-recessio, levels with crushed rock aggregates recoverig more rapidly tha sad ad gravel. Durig 6, lad-wo sad ad gravel sales (4,38, Mt) were.5% higher tha the previous year, while crushed rock sales (94,7, Mt) were 5.3% higher. Millio toes 8 6 4 8 6 4 Figure 3. Total MPA lad-wo aggregates sales volumes i GB 6 7 8 9 3 4 5 6 Year Lad-wo sad ad gravel Crushed rock Durig 6, oly % of the lad-wo sad ad gravel toage sold was replaced by ew permitted reserves, compared with 7% i 5 (see Figure 4). 6 Figure 4. Toages of ew lad-wo sad ad gravel permissios issued i GB 5 Millio toes 4 3 7 8 9 3 4 5 6 Year of issue 8
4% Figure 5. Lad-wo sad ad gravel repleishmet rates i GB % % 8% 6% 4% % % 7 8 9 3 4 5 6 Year of issue Sad ad gravel repleishmet rate 7-6 average Crushed rock saw ew reserves equivalet to 5.6 millio toes i 6, oly 6% of total aual sales (see Figure 6). Figure 6. Toages of ew crushed rock permissios issued i GB 45 4 35 Millio toes 3 5 5 5 7 8 9 3 4 5 6 Year of issue 9
SECTION ONE CONTINUED 4% 35% 3% 5% % 5% % 5% % Figure 7. Crushed rock repleishmet rates i GB Glesada issued, 44Mt Bardo Hill issued, 3Mt Torr Works issued, 5Mt 7 8 9 3 4 5 6 Year of issue Crushed rock repleishmet rate 7-6 average
SECTION TWO PLANNING ACTIVITY. NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS 5 applicatios for ew sad ad gravel sites were submitted i 6, compared to 4 i 5. 8 applicatios were made for extesios to existig quarries compared to 6 the previous year. By cotrast, 4 saw oly applicatio for a ew site ad 5 extesios beig submitted, which represeted a all-time low i idustry submissios. This gradual icrease i the umber of submissios comes at a time of geeral recovery i geeral ecoomic ad costructio activity. 5 Figure 8. Number of lad-wo sad ad gravel applicatios submitted i GB by type 5 5 7 8 9 3 4 5 6 Year of submissio New Extesio There were 5 crushed rock extesio applicatios submitted i 6 compared to 5 i 5. There were o applicatios for ew sites. Figure 9. Number of crushed rock applicatios submitted for extesios to existig sites i GB 8 6 4 6 7 8 9 3 4 5 6 Year of submissio
Figure shows the umber of Review of Old Mieral Permissios (ROMP) submissios ad Sectio 73 (Sectio 4 i Scotlad) applicatios that have bee made each year. Although the total for 6 was 3, reduced from 49 i 5, it is oted that 4 of those were for the extesio of a existig permissio term (3 i 5). This reflects the ogoig impact of the recessio, where sites have bee operatig at reduced levels of output ad /or mothballig. 5 45 4 35 3 5 5 5 Figure. Number of ROMP ad Sectio 73 (icl. time extesios) applicatios submitted i GB by type 3 4 5 6 Year of submissio ROMP Sectio 73 (icl. time extesios). NUMBER OF APPEALS As with the previous years o appeal decisios were idetified by MPA members i 6. It would still appear that where a refusal recommedatio seems ievitable, the most likely outcome would be the withdrawal of the applicatio. 3
SECTION THREE PLANNING AUTHORITY PROCESSES 3. NUMBER OF DETERMINATIONS Approvals for sad ad gravel reduced to 6 durig 6 compared to 4 durig 5. There were refusals i 6, the first sice, ad further applicatios were withdraw. For crushed rock there were 3 approvals (6 i 5) ad applicatio withdraw. Figures ad idicate that the umber of sad ad gravel ad crushed rock applicatios beig determied remais below pre-9 levels. With applicatios refused i 6, the average approval rate for sad gravel applicatios over the period 999 to 6 stads at 9%, while for crushed rock it is 96%. Of ote is that % of sad ad gravel applicatios ad 5% of crushed rock applicatios were withdraw post submissio, up from 5% ad 6% respectively i 4 albeit these figures cover a relatively small umber of sites. Withdrawals ca represet a sigificat waste of time, effort ad resource both for idustry ad local authorities, ad this issue will be moitored i comig AMPS reports to determie whether this is the begiig of a more worryig tred. More sigificatly, the umber of applicatios that are withdraw have the potetial to distort the overall determiatio rate that is beig observed ad reported. If refusals are added to withdrawals, 4% of sad ad gravels applicatios failed i 6. Figure. Number of lad-wo sad ad gravel applicatios determied i GB by status Moths 3 5 5 5 9 3 3 4 4 7 8 9 3 4 5 6 Year of determiatio Approved Refused Withdraw 3 9 4 6 Moths 8 6 4 7 Figure. Number of crushed rock applicatios determied i GB by status 9 8 3 7 8 9 3 4 5 6 Year of determiatio Approved Refused Withdraw 7 6 6 5 3 4
A regioal aalysis of approval rates sice 999 is show i Figure 3. Figure 3. Approval rates by regio durig 999-6 for applicatios to extract mierals (all mieral-bearig applicatios) % 9% 8% 7% 6% 5% 4% 3% % % % NE NW YH EM WM EE LN SE SW WA SC GB 3. TIME TAKEN TO OBTAIN PERMISSION Figures 4 ad 5 show the time take to complete each stage of the overall plaig process required to secure a mieral plaig permissio. O the oe had, it is ecouragig that the time required to get sad ad gravel applicatios to determiatio oce submitted has appeared to reduce from 3 moths to 9 moths betwee 5 ad 6. This may be the result of a more protracted pre-applicatio period havig a kock-o impact o the determiatio period, or the applicatios i questio beig less complex. However, of cocer is the exteded period it is takig to issue plaig cosets post determiatio, with sad ad gravel cosets takig 6 moths ad crushed rock cosets takig moths. Aecdotal evidece suggests that a cotributory factor to these exteded periods ca be local authority legal resource ad experiece. The average time to be issued a permissio betwee 7 ad 6 remais at 3 moths for sad ad gravel ad 3 moths for crushed rock. It is importat to ote though, that the permissio phase represets just oe part of a wider site developmet process that ca take to 5 years to complete (see figure ) Moths 5 45 4 35 3 5 5 5 Figure 4. Average time (i moths) to obtai a sad ad gravel permissio i GB 6 7 9 8 5 3 7 4 4 4 7 3 9 8 6 3 6 9 6 7 8 9 3 4 5 6 Year of issue Pre-applicatio duratio Determiatio duratio Time to issue 5
SECTION THREE - CONTINUED Figure 5. Average time (i moths) to obtai a crushed rock permissio i GB Moths 5 45 4 35 3 5 5 5 4 8 4 8 8 8 4 6 7 5 4 7 8 9 3 4 5 Year of issue Pre-applicatio duratio Determiatio duratio Time to issue 9 6 3.3 SHARES OF NATIONAL PROVISION Figures 6 ad 7 show that almost half of ew permitted reserves i Great Britai that have bee approved ad issued sice 7 are i Scotlad or Wales. Figure 6. Regioal toages (millio toes) approved for all lad-wo aggregates durig 7-6 NE 48mt NW 3mt YH 4mt EM 79mt SC 57mt WM 3mt EE 35mt LN mt SE 7mt WA 48mt SW 55mt 6
Figure 7. Regioal shares of approvals of all lad-wo aggregates durig 7-6 NE 4% NW % YH 3% EM 4% SC 4% WM % EE 3% LN % SE 6% WA 4% SW % Table : Metrics for Plaig Authority Approvals, Permissios Issued Oly, durig 7-6 Material Lad-wo sad ad gravel Lad-wo sad ad gravel Crushed Rock Crushed Rock Total Type of site New Extesio New Extesio All No. of approvals 4 54 % of total GB % 6% - 7% - Toage approved (Mt) 48 3 986,37 % of total GB 4% 6% - 8% - Area covered (Ha),469 5,987,8 9,573 % of total GB 5% 63% - % - Toage ( ) per approval,4,664 8,63 - Toage ( ) per Ha approved 33 34 466 - * This table covers oly a sub-sample of the survey resposes, i.e. all returs that provide both toage ad area iformatio. It excludes returs that have either iformatio missig. 7
SECTION FOUR DEVELOPMENT PLANS 4. NUMBER OF CORE STRATEGIES ADOPTED EACH YEAR SINCE 7 The most recet data (begiig of September 7) shows that 87 out of 8 (73.7%) local plaig authorities moitored i Eglad had adopted their Core Strategies/Local Pla, with a further 5 havig had or udergoig a Examiatio i Public. I Wales, out of 5 (84%) Local Developmet Plas have bee adopted. The 4 Plaig ad Compulsory Purchase Act required that full pla coverage be i place withi 3 years, ad it is clear this has ot bee achieved ad is ulikely to be i the foreseeable future. Sice, the 46 Core Strategy/Local Plas adopted i Eglad have take a average of 8 moths to progress from the first cosultatio to adoptio. 4. ALLOCATED V UNALLOCATED SITES Figure 8 shows that for the period 7 to 6, 48% of the 3 permissios grated for extractio of mierals were ot idetified/ allocated i a adopted Mieral Pla. Figure 8. Local pla status of approvals for all lad-wo aggregates i GB durig 7-6 Yes 4% Not stated % No 48% 8
4.3 PLANNING OFFICER RECOMMENDATIONS For permissios issued over the period 7 to 6, 85% were issued followig a officer s recommedatio for approval. It seems likely that a high proportio of the remaiig balace may also have had officer support. The evidece suggests that, i geeral, elected members o plaig committees are beig guided by, ad takig accout of, officers advice ad recommedatios. Figure 9. Local pla status of approvals for all lad-wo aggregates i GB durig 7-6 Approved 85% Not stated or Not applicable 5% For further iformatio, please cotact Mark North, Director of Plaig at mark.orth@mieralproducts.org or Aurelie Delaoy, Chief Ecoomist & Policy Executive at aurelie.delaoy@mieralproducts.org or telephoe 7 963 8. 9
The Mieral Products Associatio is the trade associatio for the aggregates, asphalt, cemet, cocrete, dimesio stoe, lime, mortar ad silica sad idustries. For further MPA iformatio visit www.mieralproducts.org Mieral Products Associatio 7 Mieral Products Associatio 38-44 Gilligham Street Lodo SWV HU Tel 7963 8 Fax 7963 8 ifo@mieralproducts.org www.mieralproducts.org