OPENCAST
How green is your quarry? Carefully planned and well-managed aggregate quarries should leave little negative impact on the environment. By Nico Pienaar, director of Aspasa
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ITH VAST KNOWLEDGE built up over centuries of quarrying, the quarrying industry has exhaustive references and frameworks within which to operate and minimise the negative effects on the environment. Strict legislation also places a heavy onus on operators to comply with all requirements – or face the wrath of the law. All too often, however, even environmentally conscientious companies fall foul of these guidelines and requirements, mostly due to the sheer administrative intensity of managing environmental systems. The Aggregate and Sand Producers Association of Southern Africa (Aspasa) has taken proactive steps to help member quarries to more easily comply with requirements through the publication of easy-to-use environmental management guidelines. Environmental Management of Quarries: Development, Operation and Rehabilitation Guidelines for Southern African quarries assists in the management of the environment surrounding quarries. It serves as either a supplement to member’s own environmental procedures and programmes, or to assist in the fulfilment of site-specific legal requirements as set out in the
approved Environmental Management Plan (EMP). The application of the guidelines to all phases of the quarry (or sand mine) will improve the environmental performance of the operation and reduce the associated risks of non-compliance with some legal requirements, as well as reduce the overall cost of environmental management and rehabilitation and the total costs of the operation. Aspasa has made it easier for our quarries to be environmentally responsible and comply with legal requirements, as well as our own strict membership requirements. We have also worked closely with the association’s own environmental programme auditor, Alan Cluett, to ensure that the guidelines are practical to implement and are in line with current and future statutory requirements. It is a misconception that environmental management costs money. In fact, the opposite is true. Legal environmental requirements coupled with the adoption and implementation of sound management practices to all aspects and levels of management ensure the maximum profits over the life of the mine. Since introducing compulsory environmental audits as part of its membership criteria nearly seven years ago, Aspasa is confident that members are ready to move beyond Guidelines exist for each mere compliance issues to the phase of the operation from next level of management. construction, operational Major environmental issues on participating quarries have to decommissioning and either been addressed or are bepost-closure ing carefully managed to avoid
ASPASA HAS FORMULATED GUIDELINES FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS: • obtaining mining permits and mining licenses • requirements for the issue of a mining permit or mining license • site planning and development • general site issues • access and transport • aesthetics • preservation of vegetation • drainage and erosion control • dust, noise, light management • oil storage and separation • waste handling • site excavation • rehabilitation – concurrent and closure • post-closure maintenance.
unnecessary damage to the environment. During the same time, companies that were unwilling to change their ways have been pressurised and, as a result, only environmentally responsible companies hold current membership of the association. Having reached such a high level of compliance, we are now able to introduce a new system of audits that builds upon our previous success and expands the programme to address the finer details of environmental management. Our audits will become more thorough and the kind of feedback we give to quarries will allow management to take decisive action and address individual points on a one-onone basis. Contact Aspasa at +27 (0)11 791 3327, Fax 086 647 8034, email: nico@aspasa.co.za, www.aspasa.co.za. IN SID E M IN IN G 0 3 | 2014 35