Seed of biome blasted in quarry

The granite will be carved into a giant seed

A massive chunk of granite, which will form the centrepiece of the Eden Project's new educational centre, has been blasted loose in east Cornwall.

The piece of stone is expected to be three time larger than the slabs that went to form Stonehenge.

The granite, from the De Lank quarry on Bodmin Moor, will be carved by Peter Randall-Page.

It will be made into a giant seed to be the centrepiece of the building, which will also reflect spirals in nature.

The explosion on Tuesday, caused by 4.4lbs (2kg) of black powder, only made the 300 tonne stone lift up 6ins (15cm) before it came to rest.

The stone was carefully checked, including an ultrasound examination, to make sure there were no cracks as a result of the blast.

The next job is to get it out of the quarry, which will take a large crane which has to arrive on 25 lorries.

After that, it will take about a year's work before the piece is placed at the centre of Eden's new education building.