Quarry Dec 2020

Set-up of integrated washing and crushing plant defies the uncertainty of COVID-19

PRODUCER’S ASIAN SAND MARKET BREAKTHROUGH A newly established quarry business exports sand to Singapore

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WASHING CIRCUIT CREATES MORE FLEXIBILITY

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OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF QUARRYING AUSTRALIA

DECEMBER 2020

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IN THIS ISSUE DECEMBER 2020

VOLUME 27, ISSUE 12

FEATURES 27 INSIGHTS INTO FUTURE MATERIALS DEMAND Speakers from BIS Oxford Economics and Repurpose It provide insight into the post-COVID challenges for the extractive industry.

29 SMARTER SOLUTION FOR LIMESTONE QUARRY A US aggregates producer has generated more than 2Mt of in-spec concrete sand from a previous waste stream material.

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FLEXIBLE CIRCUIT The set-up of a modular washing plant has defied the uncertainty of COVID-19.

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SAND BREAKTHROUGH A newly established WA sand producer is exporting to Singapore.

30 FILLING THE SAND GAP, MAKING A REVENUE STREAM Why a wash plant is the ideal medium for operators to take advantage of the growing sand market.

32 OPTIMISING CONCRETE WITH RECYCLED MATERIALS Eunan Kelly explains why the quality and structural integrity of recycled sand and aggregates is as good as the ‘real thing’.

36 USE OF ROBOTS IN SITE SURVEILLANCE APPS Trimble and Boston Dynamics collaborate on construction data collection technologies with the latter’s Spot robot platform.

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VIRTUAL SYMPOSIUM A wet processing technologies OEM has hosted a virtual conference of 1500 delegates.

DECEMBER 2020

OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF QUARRYING AUSTRALIA

PRODUCER’S ASIAN SAND MARKET BREAKTHROUGH A newly established quarry business exports sand to Singapore

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QUARRY

Set-up of integrated washing and crushing plant defies the uncertainty of COVID-19

An Australian diversity program has been presented to the IQ’s global branches.

46 BUILDING FOR THE NEXT THOUSAND YEARS Why are so many modern organisations and building structures short-lived compared to centuries past?

DECEMBER 2020

www.quarrymagazine.com

WASHING CIRCUIT CREATES MORE FLEXIBILITY

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EVERY MONTH 04 FROM THE EDITOR

16 PRODUCT FOCUS

06 FROM THE PRESIDENT

49 FROM THE IQA CEO

08 NEWS THIS MONTH

49 IQA NEWS

Quarry December 2020 3

EDITORIAL

SURVIVING THE HARD TIMES TO THRIVE IN THE GOOD

W

hat an extraordinary year we’ve had in 2020. It’s a sentiment this month of Shane Braddy (page 6) and Kylie Fahey (page 49), so I’m being careful not to pre-empt their thoughts too much. Certainly, I encourage you to read their insights and optimism for the IQA’s pursuits in 2021.

Depending on where you live and work, 2020 may have been quite disruptive or business as usual. Certainly, as I commented a few months ago, the quarrying industry’s professionalism throughout COVID-19 has been exceptional. As the industry already had to abide by stringent OHS regulations, the requirements for COVIDSafe plans were perhaps not the disruptor they would have been for other industries.

To some extent, workers were already wearing PPE gear on-site and practising basic hygiene and social distancing before it became the norm. Even when a Victorian site had to rapidly close down after tests implied two workers had the virus, the matter was handled decisively and the quarry resumed operation as quickly as it closed.

When I visited a NSW quarry in late October (I spent nearly four months living and working in Canberra between July and October), the only notable difference from my past site visits was a temperature check. Otherwise, it was business as usual, and the impression I had from talking with the managers and personnel was that while business slowed in the second quarter of 2020 (as Australia instituted a nationwide lockdown), activity began to revive late in the third quarter, thanks to many public infrastructure initiatives.

Even in Victoria, the state hardest hit by the pandemic, quarrying businesses were still able to continue as essential services, even as construction activity

plateaued under Stage 4 restrictions.

Nor does the flow of vital plant and equipment to quarries appear to have been impeded. Barro Group’s Wodonga Quarry (page 18) installed a new modular crushing, screening and washing circuit against the backdrop of the Victorian second wave. Had the project been halted, it would not have been the equipment that was lacking but skilled experts from the supplier (due to state and territory border closures and Melbourne’s infamous “ring of steel”).

Like most interactions across business this year, the supplier – Terex Washing Systems – provided a virtual solution to assist the quarry personnel with setting up the plant. Nonetheless, as aired in our last issue, some Australian distributors believe closer collaboration with OEMs on locally manufactured spares and components is crucial and could prevent future disruption, especially as so many northern hemisphere countries go into lockdown to combat their own outbreaks.

Thanks to a careful “business as usual” approach (encouraged by government, the IQA, the CCAA and within the industry itself), the quarrying industry nationwide has managed to weather the COVID-19 storm. As we head into 2021, the threat is still alive (as the recent South Australian cluster shows).

However, with Victoria back in the fold, and the other states and territories holding their own, there is reason for optimism. It’s still a challenge but the industry is surviving the hard times to thrive in the good times ahead.

Best wishes for the season – and stay safe!

Published by:

THANKS TO A CAREFUL ‘BUSINESS AS USUAL’ APPROACH, THE QUARRYING INDUSTRY HAS WEATHERED THE COVID-19 STORM

11-15 Buckhurst Street South Melbourne VIC 3205 T: 03 9690 8766 www.primecreativemedia.com.au Publisher John Murphy john.murphy@primecreative.com.au

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submitted and requires indemnity from the advertisers and contributors against damages or liabilities that may arise from material published. © Copyright – No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the permission of the publisher.

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Quarry December 2020

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PRESIDENT’S REPORT

A YEAR TO REMEMBER - WITH GREAT HOPE FOR THE YEAR AHEAD The Institute of Quarrying Australia

I

t is unbelievable what this year has delivered. It has had it all – the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. It’s time to reflect as we head into a wellearned break and ponder what 2021 may bring.

The year started after devasting bushfires in Queensland and continued into South Australia, New South Wales, and Victoria over the Christmas/New Year period. Tragically, people lost their lives and the destruction of wildlife and property will be felt by so many for years to come. Hopefully, lessons were learned, as another summer is upon us.

We were hearing of an epidemic emerging in China and, by the time the IQA Board met in February for our strategic planning session, it became fact. Soon after, it was to declared be a pandemic and the world as we knew it changed forever. We endured life differently as governments worked to protect and care for our most vulnerable while at the same time trying to keep economies operating. The dark clouds were ominous. Nonetheless, the IQA needed to confront the rapidly emerging issues such as protection of our members’ health by postponing all face to face events, developing industry COVID-19 plans and checklists, along with developing and delivering online education. There was also increased communication with our branch chairs and committee members using a virtual platform and a significant reduction in IQA operating expenditure.

The shining light came from the development and endorsement of the IQA’s five-year strategic plan which has provided the direction to take positive action and work together with a renewed determination, sense of urgency to mitigate risks and realise identified opportunities. Now, with the skies a little clearer, yet still uncertain, we head into 2021 in a much better place with great hope for the year ahead.

I am proud of our IQA administration team which includes Gemma Thursfield,

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Quarry December 2020

Lisa Stromborg, Nerida Worboys and branch administrator Marie Cunningham, led by CEO Kylie Fahey and supported by company secretary Rod Lester. The directors have all contributed enormously to support of IQA management, meeting frequently to consider actions required to protect members and take advantage of the opportunities that the changing world could deliver for member services and education. The IQA team has managed to successfully transition the AIQEF, minimise the impact of declining membership, increase revenue from alternate sources and, deliver the FY20 budget.

Finally, the year ahead is exciting, with face to face events recommencing, and the development of new educational material to support the industry – in key topics such as supervision, operating and maintaining equipment safely, understanding legislation in each state, and sustainability requirements, to name just a few – delivered on multi-platforms for easy access and high customer value. Our branches are incredibly active and have some great programs for networking planned. Most importantly, planning is well underway for the IQA conference in Newcastle from 4 to 7 October, 2021. We expect the conference to be at another level after the successful Geelong conference in Victoria last year. We hope to see everyone there.

Thanks to all our members, industry pledge partners, the CCAA, and our valued sponsors for their support of the IQA – especially in what has been an extremely challenging year.

On behalf of the board and the IQA administration, I wish you and your families the best of health and happiness over the Christmas/NewYear period and for a safe and positive year ahead.

SHANE BRADDY President Institute of Quarrying Australia

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NEWS

BORAL GREENLIT TO EXPAND DUNMORE SAND MINE ‘WE WILL WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY TO ENSURE WE MEET OUR PLANNING CONDITIONS’ BORAL SPOKESPERSON

flooding, coastal wetlands and flora and fauna. Air quality and noise impacts will be managed within the IPC’s conditions, and traffic concerns in a traffic management plan.

A Boral spokesperson told Quarry the company welcomed the IPC’s decision to approve the establishment of Stage 5A and B as part of its Dunmore Sand and Soil operations,.

“The decision has relied upon thorough, rigorous studies on the proposal, as compiled by experienced and qualified experts.

Boral’s Dunmore operations comprise hard rock quarrying, sand dredging (pictured), and concrete production. Image courtesy of Boral.

The New South Wales Independent Planning Commission (IPC) has greenlit Boral’s application to expand the Dunmore Quarry.

Boral’s Dunmore operations include a hard rock quarry, a sand dredging operation and Boral Concrete Dunmore. They have provided building and construction materials in the Illawarra South Coast and greater Sydney metropolitan regions for more than 90 years.

The existing operation on the

western side of the Princes Highway has five years left in its reserves.

“Boral’s strong track record in responsible environmental management of our operations at Dunmore will continue via a series of management plans stipulated in the conditions of consent.

Boral will create two new sand mines near the Minnamurra River on the eastern side. The expansion will clear 4.5 hectares of existing farm land to extract 1.3 million tonnes of sand. Boral can now mine 800,000 tonnes of sand per year until 2030.

“We acknowledge concerns raised by the community during the assessment and appreciate this feedback. We will continue to work with the community to ensure we meet or exceed all of our planning conditions, as we have for many years at our existing operations.”

In line with consent conditions, Boral will introduce mitigation methods to prevent negative effects on water quality, groundwater,

Works on the new development will commence immediately to create jobs and supply more construction sand to the Illawarra region. •

AUSTRALIAN PCI RETURNS TO GROWTH TERRITORY According to the joint Australian Industry Group (Ai Group)/ Housing Industry Association (HIA) Australian Performance Construction Index (PCI), the local construction industry has enjoyed its best monthly outcome for the first time since 2018.

The PCI recorded a 7.5 per cent increase to 52.7 in October, largely due to housing construction increases. The result sees a return to mild expansion for the PCI, with improvement in construction industry conditions across all mainland states.

According to the Ai Group and HIA joint survey, readings above 50 indicate expansion in activity, with higher results indicating a faster expansion.

Activities improved across three of the four construction sectors, including house building, which was up by 4.4 points to 61.3. Commercial construction activity dropped 6.3 points to 39.5, while the

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Quarry December 2020

Australian PCI’s activity index rose to 4.84 in October, which suggests activity levels are close to stabilisation.

Apartment activity (47.1) and engineering activity (44.1) remained in contraction but both saw increases. Engineering in particular saw a 14.1-point-rise compared to September.

Western Australia and South Australia stabilised after recording results well above 50 points in September. New South Wales and Queensland jumped to mild expansion, while Victoria’s activity index improved but stayed in contraction.

Ai Group head of policy Peter Burn said house building was the driving factor for October’s results.

“The expansion of the Australian construction industry in October was driven by further strength in house building and smaller declines in the apartment and

The Australian PCI saw a return to form in October. Image courtesy of Ai Group.

engineering construction sectors while commercial building fell further behind,” Dr Burn said.

“Across the industry employment lifted modestly over the month. With activity restrictions in Victoria now easing and new orders rising strongly across the country, the near-term outlook is encouraging.” •

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NEWS

TASMANIAN QUARRY DEVELOPMENT RECEIVES EPA APPROVAL The Western Junction Quarry in Breadalbane, northern Tasmania, has received a level two permit from the state’s Environment Protection Agency (EPA) to expand its output.

Since 1982, the Western Junction site has been operated by Bis Quarries (previously Brambles) and landowner David Hughes.

It is currently allowed to extract, crush and screen up to 355,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of basalt, which is used for construction and building materials in northern Tasmania’s civil construction industry.

The proposed 500,000 tpa expansion will sustain long-term production and add a further 18 years of life to the quarry.

With the Tasmanian EPA passing the permit, Northern Midlands Council still must give approval.

“Various environmental issues were considered by the board in its assessment, particularly noise emissions, blasting impacts and air emissions,” EPA board chairperson Warren Jones said.

“The EPA requires that a noise survey be conducted once operations commence in the new pit to confirm the noise assessment predictions. In addition, a suite of conditions are imposed relating to blasting to ensure that Launceston Airport and other sensitive receptors are notified of blasting, and that proper blast design and monitoring occurs. “[Hughes] will also be required to control dust emissions from drilling, blasting, transport of materials and processing of materials.” •

xxx Western Junction Quarry. Image The courtesy of Google Maps.

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Quarry December 2020

HANSON VOWS TO PROTECT KOALAS AFTER APPROVAL ‘HANSON RECOGNISES THE IMPORTANCE OF THE KOALA TO THE AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY

Hanson Australia has told Quarry about its plans to reduce the environmental impacts of the Brandy Hill Quarry expansion in Port Stephens, New South Wales after it was approved by Federal Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley. The quarry was granted approval by the Federal Government to expand its production from 700,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) to 1.5 million tpa and to operate for the next 30 years.

Ley approved the application and responded to community concerns about the potential impact of an expansion on neighbouring areas of koala habitat.

“I recognise that the proposal has been subject to a high profile public campaign that has tapped into the genuine concerns about koalas and bushfire impacted areas,” Ley said.

“The clear finding from the NSW Government and the Commonwealth Department is that Brandy Hill’s expansion will not rob the area of critical koala habitat.

“The 74ha koala corridor can, however, play an important role in nurturing local populations and in

delivering a net gain for local koalas by providing better quality habitat.”

According to an independent survey commissioned by Ley, one or two koalas could be found within the development area, with most trees at the site being lower quality koala habitat. The survey concluded that it was likely koalas seen near Brandy Hill were from outside the area that is being cleared.

A Hanson spokesperson told Quarry the company welcomed the Minister’s decision to approve Brandy Hill.

“Hanson is committed to protecting all wildlife and recognises the importance of the koala to the Australian community,” the spokesperson said. “Over the past six years, the project has been refined to reduce environmental impacts.”

The spokesperson said Hanson will revegetate the 74ha koala habitat corridor, conserve 450ha of vegetation under a biodiversity offset, construct new bus bays and a pathway along Brandy Hill Drive, enclose processing equipment to manage dust and noise, and develop a program of community engagement and events. •

ADBRI RETAINS STRONG TENDERING PIPELINE Adbri expects the 2020 Federal Budget to improve demand for its product due to increased infrastructure spending.

The company described its tendering pipeline as “very strong” at its 12th annual investment conference in October.

Adbri boss Nick Miler said investment into state infrastructure projects along with tax writeoffs would boost the market’s competitiveness and help Australia reach an economic recovery.

Aggregates sales for the September quarter were up 18 per cent from the corresponding period through residential sub-division work demanding lower value fuel materials.

Adbri said this is an indicator of future

demand for cement, aggregates and concrete volumes.

Since the first half of 2020, Adbri’s Queensland demand had improved due to residential construction, while infrastructure demand has improved its outlook of New South Wales.

South Australia has benefitted from both HomeBuilder and infrastructure projects which have driven aggregate volumes. Western Australia has seen a rebound in demand.

Demand in Victoria across August and September was about 80 per cent of pre-lockdown restrictions.

Adbri noted that demand had fluctuated due to customers managing limited construction site staffing in Melbourne during the Stage 4 restrictions . •

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NEWS

TRIAL SILICA SAND SHIPMENT TO KOREA Australasian Silica Quartz (ASQ) has completed a trial shipment from Fremantle, Western Australia to South Korea.

ASQ, alongside Urban Resources, first agreed to utilise Urban’s silica sand deposit in WA in 2019.

About 45 tonnes of silica sand product was freighted in the trial shipment, suitable for the glass manufacturing, foundry, coatings and electronics industries.

The two products shipped include “ASQ-GWW1”, which is a washed sand product available in stockpiles, and the higher grade “ASQ-GWSC1” product.

ASQ has received a 50 per cent part-payment in advance for the trial shipment.

The company chose not to reveal the sand price for the trial shipment which it described as “commercially sensitive and confidential”.

There is scope that the trial shipment will lead to an ongoing bulk off-take agreement.

ASQ’s silica sand and hard rock projects are located across WA and Queensland, consisting of 12 exploration licences and eight applications.

The company’s high grade silica sand projects are located in the Albany, Gingin and Esperance regions of WA. ASQ said the initial opportunity of these projects is to provide a washed DSO silica sand project, while long-term potential is to enter the high value high grade silica sand market. •

CCAA BACKS SA BUDGET INFRASTRUCTURE SPEND ‘THE NORTHSOUTH CORRIDOR WILL BE TRANSFORMED INTO A 78KM NON-STOP FREEWAY’

Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia (CCAA) has welcomed the $16.7 billion in infrastructure spending announced in the South Australian Government’s 2020-21 Budget.

The infrastructure pipeline includes a $6.9 billion investment in roads and a $4 billion investment in public infrastructure projects in the next four years, including the final section of the North-South Corridor project which will feature tunnels along the South Road corridor.

The CCAA’s chief executive officer Ken Slattery said the North-South Corridor will bring more construction materials demand to Australia.

“The southern tunnels at 4km long will be the longest tunnels in South Australian history,” he said. “Together with the planned northern tunnel, airport link and surface motorways, the North-South Corridor will be transformed into a 78km non-stop freeway, saving commuters time and money.

“It will also help deliver future infrastructure projects more costeffectively, as heavy construction materials can be delivered more quickly and safely.”

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Quarry December 2020

The Budget also features an $851 million “Tradies Package” to boost jobs in the critical building and construction sector.

SA Premier Steven Marshall said this would fast-track the state’s COVID-19 economic recovery.

“This is the single biggest infrastructure investment of any government in the state’s history that will see a hi-vis led economic recovery of a scale not seen in South Australia ever before,” he said.

“We are delivering a comprehensive package of works that will create thousands of jobs – many of them over the next 18 months to two years.” •

BORAL SELLS STAKE IN PLASTERBOARD BUSINESS Boral declared at its AGM in October that it will offload its 50 per cent share in USG Boral for $1.43 billion after a deal with Gebr Knauf KG. USG Boral is a joint venture between Boral and Knauf, with both companies owning a 50 per cent share prior to the deal. It includes a plasterboardbased business in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the Middle East.

Boral described the $1.43 billion offer as “compelling” after it saw an eight per cent drop in revenue in the USG Boral joint venture for FY2020.

The trial shipment involved 45 tonnes of silica product. Image courtesy of Australasian Silica Quartz.

The SA Government’s 2020-21 Budget included $16.7b in infrastructure spending.

The joint venture’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) was 25 per cent lower than the previous period.

“We have been working with Knauf for some time to find the best path

forward for the business following Knauf’s acquisition of our joint venture partner, US Gypsum (USG),” Boral chief executive officer Zlatko Todorcevski said. “It makes sense for Knauf – being the world’s largest plasterboard player – to have 100 per cent ownership of the business.

“USG Boral is a great business, and very well positioned to perform strongly under the ownership of Knauf. The strength of the joint venture business and its prospects are fully reflected in the sale price as demonstrated by the attractive premium, which is a great outcome for Boral shareholders.

“The sale of Boral’s interest in USG Boral to Knauf will be a step to simplifying Boral’s geographic footprint and product portfolio.” •

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HANSON ANNOUNCES SUSTAINABILITY POLICY Hanson has unveiled its sustainability policy that aligns with parent company HeidelbergCement Group’s Sustainability Commitments to 2030.

Hanson’s strategy focuses on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that cover social, economic and environmental sustainability.

In Australia, Hanson has focused on using recycled water, rehabilitation initiatives, air quality control and design of low impact products to lower the company’s carbon footprint.

Sustainability manager Brendan Liversis said the policy will strive to decreasef CO2 emissions.

“Driving the circular economy and finding a second use for waste materials through recycling or upcycling is another key plank in supporting a sustainable construction industry,” Liveris told Greenroads.

Hanson’s sustainability also focuses on creating a circular economy, which has been demonstrated through its subsidiary Alex Fraser Group.

“The introduction of the Group’s Sustainability Policy represents an exciting step for Hanson,” Liveris said.

“It calls for contributions from all corners of the business to realise our goals that will benefit the environment, our communities, the economy, our people and our business.” •

LONG-TERM LEASE AVAILABLE IN 50HA SAND QUARRY ‘THE SITE IS READY TO GO AND HAS ALL THE APPROVALS FROM LOCAL COUNCIL AND STATE GOVERNMENT’

A 50ha sand quarry in Queensland is up for lease, located just 40 minutes from the Brisbane CBD and the Gold Coast.

TJ Yore’s sandstone quarry near Tamborine is situated in a 50ha key resource area that provides weathered quartzose sandstone.

The site has a logistical advantage, quarry owner Tom Yore said, because it is “ideally located to supply the Logan, Brisbane South, Gold Coast and Scenic Rim regions”.

“The site is ready to go and has received all necessary development and environmental approvals from the local council and Queensland Department of Environment and Science,” Yore told Quarry.

The site has an approved annual output of 300,000 tonnes per year, made up of soil, sand and sandstone quarry products.

“We mainly produce sand for concrete, drainage, bedding and landscaping uses,” Yore said.

“Soil at the quarry is also used for composting.”

Yore said excavation is undertaken by free-digging and ripping, with

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Quarry December 2020

blasting approval also available for occasional hard sandstone bands.

The site features an Energex mains power line on-site, along with a secure water supply for washing sandstone. Other facilities include water and sediment dams, a hardstand area for processing plant, plus bunding and site access infrastructure. No plant is included.

The key resource area is positioned on the 195ha Spiddal farm, first settled by Tom’s ancestor Michael Yore in 1865.

For more information about this lease opportunity, tel 07 5543 6133 or email.tjyore@optusnet.com.au •

ALEX FRASER, MANN GROUP DRIVE CIRCULAR ECONOMY Alex Fraser’s Clarinda Recycling Facility has recovered and recycled more than 2500 tonnes of demolition materials from Mann Group’s latest project in Melbourne’s CBD. The two-year strong partnership has recovered and recycled hundreds of thousands of tonnes of demolition materials like concrete, brick, stone and steel into new quality construction materials from other projects..

The waste material from this inner city university project is being recycled

by Alex Fraser to be supplied back to the source project for reuse, with excess materials supplied to other major projects in Melbourne.

Hanson’s sustainability policy targets a circular economy.

The 50ha site near Tamborine has an approved annual output of 300,000 tpa.

“Alex Fraser’s recycling and reporting processes have helped us consistently meet and exceed the

recycling requirements of the project,” Mann Group general manager Greg Horsey said.

“It great to see the uniquely circular outcomes we’ve achieved with Alex Fraser on this project,” Horsey said.

“We’ve closed the loop by recovering our demolition material, recycling it into roadbase and aggregates, and then reusing the sustainable products made from it in the new build.”

The inner city university project will be completed in early 2021, reducing carbon emissions of the new development by 16,323kg.

Mann Group’s work with Alex Fraser has been instrumental in achieving a Green Building Council Australia Green Star rating for the project. •

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Quarry December 2020

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An aerial view of Barro Group’s sand quarry off Edwards Road, Wodonga.

Photo by Sean King, Barro Group.

SAND PROCESSING

WODONGA QUARRY OPENS DOOR TO FLEXIBILITY WITH WASHING CIRCUIT

During COVID-19, quarrying has proven its worth as an essential sector. On the Victorian border, activity has been especially high at Barro Wodonga Quarries, where the set-up of an integrated crushing and washing plant has defied the uncertainty of the pandemic. Damian Christie reports.

B

arro Group is one of Australia’s great family business success stories. Since 1946, it has been a major independent supplier and distributor of premixed concrete, quarry and other construction materials products.

The company, founded by David Barro, today operates more than 45 sites, around 600 employees and hundreds of contractors throughout Victoria and Queensland. It has divisions in quarrying, concrete, landscape and building supplies, concrete roof tiles, landfills, transport and pre-cast panels.

In Victoria, Barro’s quarries fall under the banner of Mountain View Quarries, which was first established in 1962. These hard rock and sand quarrying plants are located in Point Wilson, Bacchus Marsh, Maude, Donnybrook, Nyora, Seymour, Wyndham Vale, Little River, Yea and Wodonga.

Wodonga is home to two Barro quarry sites: the Edwards Road sand pit and the Lincoln Causeway site, just south of Albury, which also houses the company’s Pronto concrete plant.

In Wodonga, Barro produces sand for both concrete and asphalt aggregates, which is employed in road projects, buildings, housing and sub-divisions.

However, as Barro Group’s Victorian quarry operations manager Craig Banthorpe told Quarry, “our sites are needed for the supply of all materials for the entire Wodonga area”.

The plan is to run a new crushing, screening and washing circuit at the Edwards Road sand quarry, replacing ageing plant and equipment 18

Quarry December 2020

that included a sand washing system.

“I remember talking to our operators about how much wear they had on the pump system,” Banthorpe said. “There were several things, including overhead slurry lines, that needed attention. We had big pipes running three metres overhead for long distances.”

Indeed, Barro seriously considered retaining the aged wash plant and only replacing the crushing and screening circuit.

“When we started, we were just going to overhaul the crushing circuit,” Banthorpe said.

“We were going to leave some of those lines in there and then it became obvious and natural that we should integrate the whole lot.”

The new plant would have to fulfil numerous requirements. These included the processing of up to 350 tonnes per hour (tph) of 0-100mm feed, varying feeds to three gradations and scalping of +50mm. The plant would have to operate in crushing or round stone “modes” – ie stockpiling 2050mm round stone or crushing 50mm minus stone to the crusher – and blend aggregates with the “flip of a door”, to quote Barro staff, including the blending of manufactured sand with virgin sand deposits. It would also be required to produce up to eight different products, including 0-5mm natural sand, 0-5mm manufactured sand, and 3-7mm, 1014mm, 20mm and 50mm aggregates.

ALL IN ONE PLANT Barro subsequently put out a tender for the full replacement of the processing plant at

the Edwards Road Quarry site. The company considered several options, including mobile and static plant, before accepting a proposal from Terex Washing Systems for an integrated crushing, screening and washing modular plant. Barro retained its existing feed hopper and transfer conveyor which have been incorporated into the new circuit.

“We wanted a ‘one stop shop’,” Banthorpe explained. “We have kept a little bit of our old plant but we wanted to engage somebody that could look after all of the remaining parts of the project for us.”

James Murphy, the Australian and New Zealand sales manager for Terex Washing Systems (TWS), said that this “one stop shop”, integrated approach helped TWS win the contract. “It is Terex Materials Processing from start to finish. We have a MC1150 cone crusher, feeder and surge bin in there, integrated into the same PLC and control system as our Terex Washing Systems equipment.”

At the time of press (November 2020), the newly-integrated Terex Jaques/TWS processing plant had literally come online at the Wodonga site. The circuit comprises an AggreSand 206 modular wash plant – comprising a primary three-deck, 6m x 1.8m (or 20’ x 6’) rinsing screen with an integrated sand plant, self-regulating sump tank, twin cyclones, 4.3m x 1.8m (or 14’ x 6’) dewatering screen, and radial sand stockpilers – backed by a modular MC1150 cone crusher with integrated surge bin and pan feeder, and

another 6m x 1.8m (or 20’ x 6’) part-rinsing, aggregate sizing screen. All equipment is controlled by a Terex designed MCC and electrical control system.

The MC1150 modular plant comprises a 14-tonne TC1150 roller bearing cone crusher with a nominal head diameter of 1150mm which can accommodate fine, medium coarse and extra coarse manganese profiles and is powered by a 220kW motor. The galvanised steel support structure includes guards and discharge chute and houses the lubrication oil tank and hydraulic system.

The MC1150 control system incorporates automated crusher closed side setting adjustment with tramp iron relief and hydraulic overload protection.

The crusher is fed by the 20-tonne surge bin, built from a heavy-duty steel modular construction with a Terex 800mm x 2500mm vibrating pan feeder.

BUILDING ‘LEGO’ BLOCKS Although it is the first time a TWS wash plant has been installed on a Barro site, Banthorpe said Barro’s relationship with Terex Jaques, the Australian arm of Terex MPS, “goes way, way back. If you look at our large quarries at Wyndham Vale and Point Wilson, they are fundamentally Jaques crushing plant.

We’ve built them separately but the crushers themselves are Jaques models, so we’re pretty familiar with the product.”

While the entire crushing, screening and washing circuit is of a modular construction, Murphy said it was more of a customised build. “It’s definitely not an off the shelf design, there was a period of engineering involved and sign-offs on the layout with Barro to ensure everybody was happy before we proceeded to manufacture,” he explained.

“Even the 206 aggregate screen had a degree of customisation – it is more part-rinser than full rinsing screen so it can produce those three in-spec aggregate products while collecting and transferring the manufactured sand back into the wash system on the AggreSand 206. The oversize stone is allowed to either be stacked or can be recirculated back to the surge bin, so there’s some customisation in that.

“Even the rear surge bin over the MC1150 cone crusher has saved us a considerable amount of ‘real estate’,” Murphy added.

“We’ve elevated that surge bin and not had to fit another conveyor into the system. One of the biggest challenges that we had with this plant and the reason why there was a fair amount of customisation was to double

The TWS integrated, modular crushing, screening and washing plant at Barro Wodonga. Photo: Sean King.

the capacity of the old wash plant but on generally the same footprint.”

Nonetheless, despite the customised features, Murphy said the new Wodonga plant is versatile enough that it could be dismantled and reassembled in good time. “Modularity in its nature is things that can be bolted together,” he explained. “If Barro chose to pull that plant down and move it to somewhere else, they wouldn’t have to pull out the oxy torch and cut anything out. Everything can be unbolted back to smaller components and moved to a different location.

“There’s a lot of connecting bolts and pipework but everything’s built in the factory [at TWS’s manufacturing facilities in the United Kingdom] and broken down only to the largest component size to make it fit the container in a cost-effective manner. So when it comes to site, we’re pulling out parts that have cyclones and pipework already mounted onto them and just building Lego blocks and it goes together relatively easily.”

‘DIVVYING’ UP PRODUCTS Murphy added the AggreSand 206 has always offered producers high throughput capabilities on “a relatively small, compact, modular footprint. It’s versatile because upon ordering you can configure it with two or three decks on the rinsing screen, one or two grades of sands to be produced, and even try double or triple washing systems for applications where the raw material has a higher clay content and it’s more problematic to process to meet a specification. We can also replace the standard hydrocyclones on the AggreSand 206 with more specialist, dewatering style separators, with vacuum bleed adjustments on the underflow density.

The benefit is producing a cleaner, drier product before it even hits the dewatering

screen, thus further lowering the soluble clays content in the final washed sand.”

Murphy said Barro required the processing of an alluvial gravel feed at a target tonnage of up to 350 tph. Therefore, he was confident the AggreSand 206 could achieve that throughput with high screen efficiency by “divvying” up products. The triple deck screen allows aggregates to be sent to the surge bin and the sand is separated to the back of the sand plant. The middle deck is used to relieve the bottom deck bed depth, ensuring all the sand available is recovered at the first chance of asking.

Another requirement was upgrading the plant to operate in two modes– to, as Murphy said, “produce rounded, decorative stone and at other times, crushed stone for concrete or asphalt aggregate. We offered that feature on the modular MC1150 cone crusher, so that any of the stone could by-pass the crusher via a chute, and all of that could be processed over the part rinser screen. That also means we’re not using power when we don’t need to run the cone crusher.

“Barro wants to be able to blend the manufactured sand into natural sand or vice versa, if the market dictates it,” Murphy said.

“The AggreSand, with its dual pumps and hydrocyclones in a two-grade format can process those two separate materials through process streams in parallel. The materials can be blended at the cyclone’s underflow box and then again, if need be, on the dewatering screen’s discharge chute. This gives the operator versatility, and understanding of how much to blend across to meet a spec, should that be the requirement.”

POWER, AUTOMATION Another challenge for TWS was to marry the integrated plant’s power requirements. Murphy Quarry December 2020 19

SAND PROCESSING

said the standard AggreSand 206 offering has its full electrical system fitted at factory prior to dispatch. A “plug and play” system allows the cabling to be routed and connected to a control panel on the chassis during on-site installation. However, on the Barro plant, they have included several additional conveyors, a whole crusher, a rinsing screen, etc, so for that size of control panel, we have offered “a separate containerised MCC control room and Terex supplied the full electrical install and cabling on-site”.

The integrated plant is highly automated and can be overseen by the one operator. “On the automation side of things, he’s going to have full remote access for stop/start control of his feeder,” Murphy explained. “There’s both auto-start and auto-stop features, meaning a one-push button to start the plant and it starts up in a pre-determined sequence “On the cone crusher side, we have a surge bin that operates on high and low level settings, so the crusher can be choke-fed to operate at optimum efficiency for reduction and shape. The cone crusher will automatically stop the feeder if there’s not enough product to run it for a length of time, and it will start again once the hopper is full. In the same vein, we have a transfer pump, whereby the manufactured sand is pumped back to the AggreSand. There are flow meters around the plant, and if for any reason, the water coming into that tank stops or reduces, we have a low level setting on the flow meter which disengages the pump so it won’t run dry. All of the inlet pressures on the cyclones and manifold water pressures on the fresh water delivery are recorded as well. The features are all there, thanks to the smarts in the Terex MCC and electrical control system.”

The automation and control system is aided by cloud-based data collection. “All the data and tracking of the plant’s performance can be uploaded to the cloud so anybody in Barro’s head office can access the plant, to see how many hours a day its running and how many tonnes of feed it’s processing,” Murphy added. “From a maintenance perspective, they can also track how many amps are being drawn on any of the motors, etc. This becomes useful in detecting imminent bearing failures for example.”

FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN TWS and Jaques provided the Barro Wodonga team with the expertise to install the plant – a task made more challenging by the disruption of COVID-19. Indeed, Banthorpe said Barro would have installed the plant much earlier 20

Quarry December 2020

A radial sand conveyor complements the TWS AggreSand 206 wash plant. Photo: Sean KIng.

in the year, had the pandemic not reared its head. However, the uncertainties in the international market meant Barro could not afford to dismantle its old sand plant if the delivery of the TWS equipment was delayed by months, not weeks.

“As it turned out, it probably wouldn’t have impacted us but we didn’t know at the time,” Banthorpe reflected. “It was the fear of the unknown, we couldn’t afford to stop our existing plant. We decided to wait until everything arrived – and that was the right decision.”

For Murphy, in particular, the closure of borders to Victoria meant he could not physically participate in the build and the installation with Terex Jaques’ Victorianbased personnel and Barro Wodonga’s operations team. As has become the norm during COVID-19, he participated in a virtual capacity.

“We put a few CCTV cameras on the deck, which I could monitor from my ‘control room’ in Brisbane,” Murphy said.

“There’s a remote dial-in feature, so I can pull up the PLC display of the plant at Barro Wodonga on my PC or iPad and tell you if the sand plant is running right now. Modern technology allowed us to still deliver the project successfully, on time and on budget.

COVID-19 has thrown up challenges but nothing that can’t be overcome.

“A lot of our training and familiarisation with the PLC and the control system is happening now,” Murphy added. “Barro’s regular maintenance contractor has been involved in the build process. It’s been a benefit to TWS as well as Barro because he’s become very familiar with the plant as he’s been building it and he’s going to be around for the next few years to maintain it.”

Banthorpe complimented Murphy for his

commitment to the project in absentia.

“James couldn’t be there but he did the next best thing and was still able to supervise it,” he said. “It’s a credit to TWS that they’ve put it all together, given those limitations. I know James would have preferred to be there but in the end it was a speed bump in the road. The assembly of the plant has all gone to plan.”

Nor was there ever any serious concern about the availability of high volume components, parts and equipment through TWS and Jaques at the onset of COVID-19.

Barro Group has been assured that in the event of breakdown or regular maintenance, there is sufficient stock available for producers.

“Terex Jaques’ head office down at Dandenong South is where we support Barro Wodonga,” Murphy said. “We also have a comprehensive stock of TWS parts in our Wetherill Park branch because there are four AggreSands in NSW. Jaques took on TWS in 2018 and extensively trained its technicians and management staff to maintain and service our customer base. It’s definitely something we can service locally from Victoria, should the borders be closed again.”

EMPLOYEE BUY-IN Although the integrated plant at time of writing is in its “infancy” at Barro Wodonga, Banthorpe said the site’s operators were pleasantly surprised at the sand plant’s performance.

“Their reaction was ‘Wow! I can’t believe how dry the sand is!’” he exclaimed. “The product we were producing in our old sand operation could be very wet, so they’re getting used to the new technology. They were also impressed with the cleanliness of the stone.”

Nonetheless, Banthorpe said Barro Group is pleased the new integrated plant has come to fruition and he said the company’s selection

process provides useful pointers for other quarrying operations. “Terex Washing Systems was successful because our people – the site manager and the site supervisor – felt most comfortable with James’s proposal, and they also felt a level of familiarity with the components being used.

“You really need buy-in from the people that are operating the plant, especially when it’s done at a distance. It’s done in Wodonga, and most of our business is in Melbourne,” Banthorpe added. “I can’t stress that enough.

You need that buy-in and ownership of the selection process, and that involves people who will operate the new plant.”

In turn, he and Murphy agreed that if the site personnel know exactly what plant and products they want, the task is simpler and creates flexibility for future circumstances.

“Another piece of advice for speccing up for plant like this,” Banthorpe said, “is to allow for lots of different chutes and diverters that create plenty of options. Try to build in as much flexibility as you can. Build it for what

The Barro plant is controlled by a dedicated PLC and electrical power system. Photo: Sean King.

you’ve always done but make sure you have the ability to make changes.

“For example, after the screen where we’re making aggregates at the end, we have a last chute that leads to nothing. There isn’t a conveyor in place but we deliberately said, ‘Let’s just leave it there and one day we may have a need for making a product that we can

chute out there.’ Everything’s in position, and all we need to do is put a conveyor there.

“It may be early days but I feel confident we have lots of options,” Banthorpe concluded.

“We’ve had lots of discussions about the concrete sand and aggregates we have to make but we have a lot of flexibility with what we choose to do in that space.” •

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SAND PROCESSING

BREAKTHROUGH FOR

WA PRODUCER IN ASIAN SAND MARKET A newly established Western Australian quarry business has become the first of its kind to export construction aggregates to Singapore. Nickolas Zakharia spoke to Australasian Sands International director Steven Della Bona about the prospects of the young company.

W

hile many major aggregates businesses have struggled this year with the uncertainty of COVID-19, Australasian Sands International (ASI) has managed to establish itself and secure an offtake agreement with a Singapore company within a period of 12 months.

ASI’s director Steven Della Bona is no stranger to the quarrying industry. He serves as director for his family-owned company, WA Limestone, which has operated for more than 60 years and grown to become one of the major suppliers of road construction materials for Western Australia. He is also a long-standing IQA member, former chairman of the IQA’s Western Australian branch and a former national IQA director.

ASI specialises in concreting sand from its quarry in Walkaway, WA, about 37km southeast of Geraldton, and almost 400km north of Perth. The company had secured an export agreement with Singaporean company CRG Contractors in February, just before COVID-19 hit Australia.

“ASI was incorporated in February 2020 [after] reaching an agreement with Singaporean company CRG Contractors Pte Ltd to form an alliance to submit a competitive tender to supply 1.1 million tonnes (Mt) of concreting sand to the Singaporean Housing Development Board (HDB),” Della Bona told Quarry.

The impact of COVID-19 had not materialised at the time of the deal, but it is clear that major economies across the world, including those in China and South East Asia, are ramping up their building activity.

World cement consumption had risen by 2.8 per cent in 2019, largely due to the Chinese cement market, which accounted for 56 per cent of global consumption at 2.28 billion tonnes, according to The Global Cement Report.

A SEABORNE OPPORTUNITY According to Della Bona, nations in and 22

Quarry December 2020

A Terex Washing Systems Finesmaster wash plant on a concrete skid.

around South East Asia have depleted their natural sand supplies, sparking their interest in supplies from producers such as ASI. “Many countries in and around the South East Asian region have exhausted their natural resources after decades of extraction activities,” he said. “Demand for responsibly sourced materials has been slowly increasing over the past five years as the world becomes more focused on the environmental and social impacts of mining activities.

“Western Australia is well placed to capitalise on this growing demand for raw construction materials and ASI is leading the charge to capture this demand for the benefit of WA.” ASI is socially and environmentally conscious about its operations, at a time when responsible quarrying practices are vital.

“Western Australia has some of the most stringent environmental, safety and social laws and regulations in the world,” Della Bona said.

“ASI’s approvals to operate request strict adherence to these laws and regulations with regular monitoring and inspection by

Australasian Sands director Steven Della Bona.

statutory bodies charged with enforcing these laws and regulations.

“As a result of this comprehensive regulatory system, ASI’s customers can be assured of being supplied the highest quality products that are sourced using world best practice mining methods, which are environmentally and socially responsible

and which enable ASI to offer a sustainable supply into the future.”

Della Bona said his company will focus on securing international supply contracts, which are increasing their demand of construction sands as infrastructure projects ramp up across the globe.

“The contract with the HDB to supply raw construction materials overseas is the first for a WA company and ASI intends to build upon this success by securing supply contracts with other entities, both in Singapore and further afield,” he said.

To bolster this demand, Della Bona said freight costs are a hurdle the company must overcome to compete with more local businesses that supply to the South East Asian market.

“ASI has a growing portfolio of some of the best raw construction material resources available throughout Western Australia,” he said. “The biggest impediment to growing our export business to South East Asia and beyond is our physical distance from the market compared to other countries that have traditionally supplied the region.

“The cost of ocean freight coupled with the high cost of accessing state-owned and -operated multi-user export facilities makes it extremely difficult to be competitive on the global stage.

“As leaders of developing countries around the world begin to place a higher emphasis on securing supply of more environmentally and socially responsibly sourced materials, it is hoped that the higher costs associated with securing such materials become more acceptable.”

HIGH QUALITY PRODUCT The concrete sands from ASI are also uniquely washed and rinsed to remove fine particles and other contaminants.

“ASI has removed the fine particles as well as the clay and other contaminants from the sand using our unique washing and rinsing process,” Della Bona said. “The blade shape of ASI’s sand is ideal for this application as well, [making] it the perfect base for concrete.”

ASI’s high quality construction sands are freighted via the Port of Geraldton. The company’s logistics supply train successfully ramped up in late October, shipping 150,000 tonnes of its aggregates to Singapore.

Della Bona says Singapore is a significant milestone for the company, particularly in a time when WA is in the midst of an economic recovery.

ASI’s concrete sands are uniquely washed and rinsed to remove fine particles and other contaminants.

The export sand is loaded onto the back of a Mack truck by crane.

“In winning the supply contract to the HDB with its partner CRG, ASI has broken into an export market where all others have failed in recent years,” he said. “This success is testament to the skills and experience of ASI’s leadership team. For Western Australia, it is a great achievement to be doing this as it has created additional jobs for Western Australia and generated meaningful economic expenditure at a time when we are trying to recover from the impacts of COVID-19.”

Overall, the pandemic has not overshadowed the company’s success but remained a challenge, with ASI having to ready its site for production within a short time frame to meet the first shipment to Singapore.

“ASI was established slightly before the COVID era but it was definitely challenging,” Della Bona said. “The way that we had to prepare the site in such a short time, we went from virtually a greenfields site to producing 350 tph of material in basically six weeks.”

Having a strong team behind you is vital to the success of a business, and Della Bona believes this is why ASI has been so successful – even with Della Bona continuing to work as WA Limestone’s director.

“It’s been quite smooth and easy,” he said about juggling his responsibilities as a director of both ASI and WA Limestone. “I didn’t have to fend off too much of my time.

“It did involve fellow director David Della Bona and I spending regular time on-site, operating equipment and working the end of the shovel to achieve the result. Regular site visits and late nights made this a true team effort but all in a day’s work for us. A family bond you could say.

“We had to go back to basics and really build this project and be directly involved – going ‘back to the tools’, you could call it.

“The team that we have are all mining professionals, engineering professionals as well, and they’re all fully experienced and understand what’s required to achieve a result like we did here. It’s an exceptional team that can do just about anything.”

With the future looking bright, ASI is currently undergoing negotiations with more suppliers.

“ASI is currently in negotiations with other suppliers in the Asia Pacific region,” Della Bona said.

“The future is promising, but plenty of work is still required to secure these opportunities.

The key obstacle to overcome is access to cost-effective export infrastructure.” • Quarry December 2020 23

The CDE washing plant at Kinkuna Beach Quarry, in Central Queensland.

SAND PROCESSING

WET PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY SYMPOSIUM EXAMINES TRENDS IN MATERIALS PROCESSING INDUSTRY With members of the extractive industries sidelined from being able to convene locally, let alone internationally, an OEM of wet processing technologies did the next best thing: program a virtual conference which brought together more than 1500 industry professionals worldwide.

“W

e’re adding another New York every month,” explained Kiran Pereira, the founder of SandStories.org in a recent keynote address.

In her talk – Sand depletion: The global crisis not being talked about – Pereira said the world’s building stock is expected to double by 2060, a statement contextualised with the remarkable image of the construction of another “Big Apple” every four weeks over the next 40 years.

She was speaking virtually to industry professionals worldwide as part of a major two-day symposium for the materials processing industry programmed by CDE, a leading manufacturer of wet processing technologies.

“We’re talking about massive, massive volumes here,” Pereira said. “Sand and gravel today account for the largest volumes of solid material extracted globally.”

The demand, she said, is currently estimated to be about 50 billion tonnes per year, an average of about 18kg per person per day.

24

Quarry December 2020

The CDE washing plant at Repurpose It, in Epping, Victoria.

ENGINEERING INSIGHTS Pereira’s presentation was one of the standout keynotes from CDE’s Engineering Insights symposium, which took place virtually on 14 and 15 October. The event was in response to the desire for industry professionals around the world to come together once again as the industry often does at one of its many international tradeshows.

To maintain momentum and to support the continued progression of the industry, CDE, harnessing the global reach offered by digital conferencing, programmed its Engineering Insights symposium to deliver the tradeshow experience virtually.

Across two days, CDE experts, together with a host of guests and extractive industry figures, facilitated a series of dynamic,

educational and informative presentations and panel discussions covering multiple sectors, including sand and aggregates, construction and demolition waste recycling, industrial sands, mining, and wastewater.

DRIVING REUSE OF MATERIAL Jim Appleby, the general manager of Reconomy at Downer, advocating for the reuse of urban recycled materials, put into context the huge volumes of waste generated by the Australian population.

He was joined by CDE’s Darren Eastwood who said, “Australians generated a total of (estimated) 67 million tonnes (Mt) of waste across all waste categories” in 2016-17 (see Figure 1 on page 26).

Providing context to this, Appleby added the volume of waste generated would fill the Melbourne Cricket Ground 40 times every year.

“There are 25 million people in Australia, 2.7 tonnes of waste per person,” he said.

“Waste is socially unacceptable now.”

Reconophalt, Australia’s first asphalt product containing up to 83 per cent of recycled materials, is one of the many ways Downer Group is working to divert useable material that would otherwise be destined for landfill (see Figure 2 on page 26).

“It has up to eight recycled materials, including reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) from end of life roads, recycled oils, waste toner from used printer cartridges, crumb rubber from end of life tyres, recovered sand, recovered aggregates and waste glass destined for landfill and soft plastics from plastic bags and packaging.”

MINERAL SANDS MARKET OUTLOOK Galvin Lim, the principal consultant at TZ Minerals International (TZMI), facilitated a session about the market outlook in the mineral sands industry.

For the mineral sands producer, he said, the robustness of financial return is very much dependent on the product mix, adding that deposits with more rutile and zircon

PM Scott Morrison with a sample of Reconophalt at Downer’s Rosehill recycled asphalt facilities in 2019.

will be more attractive than those with just ilmenite in the assemblage.

On the topic of titanium feedstocks, he said pigment dominates titanium feedstock demand, accounting for about 90 per cent of global consumption every year, and that changes within the industry will have

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significant impact on titanium feedstock demand.

Overall demand for titanium feedstock is expected to grow at 1.7 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2019 through to 2024, with pigment end-use contributing the bulk of the demand growth in volume terms.

“As expected, there will be demand weakness in the near-term, driven by impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic,” Lim explained. “We expect the demand in 2020 to fall by four per cent from 2019 levels.

“Quarantine measures and travel restrictions have resulted in lower titanium dioxide (TiO2) usage overall. The aerospace sector, which has been hardest hit, is expected to recover back to pre-COVID levels by 2023.”

He also anticipates increasing overseas exports of concentrates into the Chinese market, as the country is unable to meet its domestic demand for zircon and more recently ilmenite.

“Concentrate production is often seen by many new projects as a faster and lower risk option to bring their projects online.”

DEMAND FOR SILICA SAND Murray Lines, director at Stratum Resources, a management consulting practice specialising in the international mineral markets of Australia, New Zealand, and Asia, outlined the current demand for silica sand.

“Global silica sand market drivers include increased demand from the construction market, rising automotive production, mounting per capita income, and tech advancements,” Murray stated. “Other emerging trends include the increasing usage of hybrid guide plate, solar control glazing for automotive and building glasses, lightweight glazing glass, and advanced nanotechnology in flat glass.”

Australia, he said, comes in as the fifth largest exporter of silica sand, with much of its exports going to China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

“Asia Pacific is the fastest growing region for silica sand. As is the case for a lot of minerals, between a third and half of all minerals used worldwide is produced and consumed in the Asia Pacific. Australia is in a fortunate geographic location where the demand for silica sand continues to increase.”

Murray referenced several new silica sand projects that are underway in Australia and Asia, including Diatreme’s Cape Bedford, 26

Quarry December 2020

Figure 1. Australians generated a total of 67Mt of waste across all categories in 2016-17.

Figure 2. The specs for Reconophalt.

which sits south of Mitsubishi’s Cape Flattery deposit and is the world’s largest silica sand mining operation, “exporting around 2.5 to 2.6 million tonnes a year.”

SHARING KNOWLEDGE The packed two-day programme featured almost 90 sessions involving more than 100 speakers.

“In these unique and challenging times there are many restrictions that have prevented CDE, our customers, and others in materials processing from coming together at industry events to discuss the prevalent issues of the day and the latest technological advances,” said Daniel Webber, the regional manager for Australasia at CDE. “Utilising our global network, we decided to programme the major two-day Engineering Insights symposium which proved to be a huge success, with almost 1500 industry

professionals from around the world registering.

“We firmly believe this shared approach to knowledge and expertise is a better way to aid the progression of the industry.”

Webber said it was important to ensure these discussions could continue, even though the industry was unable to come together in the same space.

“The challenges facing our industry – sand depletion, water management, sustainable mining and much more – have not gone away. As an industry leader in these fields we felt a responsibility to convene the very best in the business to facilitate these important conversations.”

The full Engineering Insights programme is now available to view on-demand for registered attendees. For more information, visit cdeglobal.com/vevent • Source: CDE Global

SAND PROCESSING

SPEAKERS PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO FUTURE OUTLOOK, MATERIALS DEMAND A wet processing symposium run by CDE Global featured speakers from BIS Oxford Economics and Repurpose It. They provided insight into the challenges and expectations of Australia’s extractive industry moving forward. Nickolas Zakharia reports.

A

ustralia and New Zealand should prepare for longer term challenges associated with the impact of COVID-19, according to Adrian Hart, the associate director of construction and infrastructure at BIS Oxford Economics.

In his presentation — Australia and New Zealand construction outlook: The short and long-term impacts of COVID-19 — at CDE Global’s Engineering Insights Virtual Event, Hart said that hard border closures and social distancing, along with “very sharp negative contraction”, had hampered demand in the construction sector.

“In Australia, by the time we reach 2023-24, we’re actually forecasting that non-oil and gas construction in Australia, which is a lot more materials–intensive, is going to be reaching new peaks and new pressure points,” Hart said.

“That is going to drive some interesting capacity capability challenges again for the Australian construction industry but it has to weather the storm before then.”

TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE According to Hart, transport infrastructure has been a significant focus of the Australian Government. This is evident in the 2020-21 Budget that delegated $7.5 billion to transport infrastructure alone. Hart also said there will be a doubling in rail construction activity.

“On the upside, we are having budgets in both Australia and New Zealand where we have strong stimulus measures put into place,” Hart said.

“By about 2023, we’re anticipating that total transport construction in Australia will surpass that recorded during the resources boom.

“The Inland Rail project is particularly driving a huge level of spending. Whether it’s road or rail, (it’s) going to require a lot of materials, a lot of concrete. By the middle of the 2020s we’re going to be in a very different world.”

Hart said many of these transport projects are complex and require proper planning from construction companies.

Repurpose It is one of CDE Global’s clients that continues to push the envelope in the processing of recycled aggregates and excavation waste.

“These complex projects can really blow out and, if they’re not procured in the right way, can really drive a lot of risk in the industry which can be passed down through the supply chain to construction materials suppliers and other suppliers to the construction industry,” Hart said.

DECLINING POPULATION GROWTH He predicted that with Australia’s economy traditionally bolstered by population growth, a decline in this area is going to impact investment markets, including construction.

“As a consequence of COVID-19, we estimate that we are going to see 600,000 people less than forecast by the middle of 2024,” Hart said.

BIS Oxford Economics predicts that residential dwellings will return to form by 2023. For non-residential building such as office spaces, the work from home boom of 2020 has seen a decline in office buildings.

The health sector has “the strongest growth potential in the non-residential building market,” according to Hart.

“Governments are investing quite heavily at a state and federal level,” he said. “There’s a real stimulus boost because of COVID. If there’s any non-residential funding that’s coming out as a response to COVID, a lot of it is being directed to health, setting up clinics,

building expansions to hospitals and so forth.”

Total engineering construction has the key drivers of mining outside of oil and gas and transport, according to Hart.

Long-term issues for the construction sector include a lack of mobility, due to COVID-19related practices of working from home, and an increase in walking and cycling.

Hart said that longer term there will be an influx in mass transit travel and a reduction in car usage, which may call for a need for more suburban and regional investment, rather than city investment.

The weakened productivity of construction firms may also affect the sustainability of the construction industry in the long term.

“A lot of it comes back to the complexity of the projects that we’re seeing right now and it’s impacting the profitability of the industry,” Hart said. “It’s important because those risks will be passed on down the chain and so the loss of productivity by the construction industry, they’ll be trying to claw this back through the rest of the supply chain.

“The construction materials industry has to watch out for those sorts of pressures.”

GROWTH OF RECYCLED AGGREGATES Another notable session at CDE Global’s virtual event — An appraisal of end use markets for recycled construction, demolition Quarry December 2020 27

SAND PROCESSING

and excavation material — featured Repurpose It chief executive officer George Hatzmanolis and Eunan Kelly, head of CDE Global’s Reco division.

Repurpose It, which has been operating since 2017 in Epping, Victoria, provides services and expertise in multiple transfer stations, waste management consulting, construction materials and soil amendments, organics and green waste processing, waste transport and collection, and waste to resource operations. It works with six main types of materials: green and organic; civil construction and infrastructure waste; excavation and demolition waste; municipal solid waste; solid inert waste; and drilling and drainage waste.

With a focus on recycled materials, Hatzmanolis’ company, which is 50 per cent owned by the Downer Group, is encouraging the use of recycled aggregates in the current climate.

“We’ve got an infrastructure build going on in Victoria and then we’ve got a recycling crisis,” he said. “We have this pressure on extractive resources that’s never been [felt] there before and as our environment is getting more urbanised our residential growth is pushing out further which means our quarries are getting pushed further away. There’s also a direct impact because our resources are finite in how much they cost.”

Hatzmanolis said Victoria’s ramp-up in infrastructure has put a huge strain on local quarries which also face a finite amount of resources and environmental issues.

“Generally there’s a lot more interest in buying recycled as opposed to virgin materials,” Hatzmanolis said. “We’re only a drop in the ocean

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Adrian Hart predicts that by 2023 construction materials demand for transport infrastructure work in Australia will be at an all-time high.

when it comes to the recovery of materials.

“There’s 50 million tonnes of extractive resource that goes into the Melbourne metropolitan market every year – 10 million tonnes of sand and gravel.”

Repurpose It has been successful in transforming excavation waste into sand and aggregate.

“We shouldn’t be competing with the quarrying industry, we need to make the best use of all of our resources,” Hatzmanolis said.

“The untapped potential is about what we can actually do with the sand and aggregate. We’re only touching the tip of the iceberg in what we’ve been able to produce.”

Repurpose It has diverted 60,000 tonnes of opaque glass from landfill so far.

“We can now produce a clean washed glass that no one ever knew was available or possible through the investment of the washing plant.

We’re finding higher value reuse,” Hatzmanolis said. “We’re the only company in Australia that can wash glass fines.”

He predicted that in the future, infrastructure “won’t be built with the same resources that we are using today. We need to work with government agencies, and we need the industry to do research and development about gaining the most out of existing resources”.

CONFIDENCE TO INNOVATE Eunan Kelly acknowledged in the session that CDE Global’s work with Repurpose It, and other similarly ambitious recycled aggregate producers in Europe and North America, had been an enlightening experience. The company has adapted its washing plants from traditional sand and gravel processing purposes to fit recycled aggregate and waste excavation purposes.

“Turning a sand washing plant into a recycling plant has plenty of challenges,” Kelly said.

“However, with knowledge, know-how, ambition, these things are possible. That’s where we (CDE) learn, not only selling the technology but providing the conduit, the building blocks to further expand businesses.”

Kelly added that he was continually amazed by the drive, ambition and inspiration of producers like Repurpose It, as they sought ways to develop new products and grow their organisations.

“It’s all about confidence,” he said. “When you know and realise there is a technology available, and it’s all possible, then it drives you. George is always keen to explore the possibilities, he wants to go to the next level.”

“We thrive on innovation in our business, and that makes it a fun place to work,” Hatzmanolis said. “We like taking a waste that someone has disregarded and having a go at [transforming] it.” •

SAND PROCESSING

LIMESTONE BUSINESS PROFITS FROM SMARTER WASHING SOLUTION American aggregates producer H&H Stone has successfully generated more than two million tonnes of in-spec concrete sand from a previous waste stream material.

P

art of that success can be attributed to H&H Stone’s purchase of MWS Washing Systems’ modular SandStorm range, which is renowned for delivering the highest level of quality spec material with its smarter design and innovative features.

With 40 SandStorm plants now operating globally, the range is designed to eliminate typical spillage areas, creating a clean, safe working environment. According to MWS, the SandStorm plants are a key part of many quarrying producers’ equipment portfolios.

Engineered with the producer in mind, MWS’s focus on easy maintenance has helped to lower the total cost of ownership while providing a quality product to help its customers increase their operating profits.

The SandStorm 516 and 620 plants allow operators to maximise production up to 500 tonnes per hour while producing up to three aggregates and two grades of specification sand. Compact and customisable, equipped with smart technology, and designed for quick and easy on-site assembly, these units are a practical solution for most quarry applications.

Dave Hamman, owner of H&H Stone, said he has seen many benefits since May 2017, when he installed a SandStorm 620 plant to transform a valueless waste product stream at the firm’s Bolingbrook, Illinois limestone quarry into a high value C33 concrete sand.

“It’s doing an excellent job, better than any type of equipment I’ve used in the past,” Hamman said. “When making a major investment in equipment such as SandStorm, relationships come into play. Challenges always occur, and it’s then that people want to work with others whom they are comfortable with and respect.

“The MWS team are cordial, easy to work with and easy to do business with. They

The SandStorm 516 and 620 plants allow operators to maximise production up to 500 tph.

addressed all our issues and have been there when we needed them,” he added.

MOBILITY, SPEED Billed as a modular, mobile wash plant, the SandStorm 620 is 45m long, 34m wide and eight metres high.

Hamman appreciates the equipment’s “relatively small” size and its mobility — which he said is part of the reason H&H Stone bought it.

One crucial component of the equipment is the unit’s speed. “It’s running about 250 tph, and we are very satisfied with its production,” Hamman said.

The Sandstorm 620 can produce up to four wash products at once. It offers a variable speed belt feeder and an adjustable hopper door for consistent material feed and has dual and single sand options for up to 500 tph.

According to Hamman, the fully automated machine is user-friendly and easy to use because it is touchscreen-operated, is radiocontrolled and has an advanced automated control system.

In turn, Hamman said the machine is a “very quiet, clean plant with very little spillage and the results so far confirm that our investment has paid off very quickly”.

These days the by-product is sold instead of piled. It is a money-maker and helps H&H Stone and the Hamman family continue to prosper in the quarrying business.

Since 2017, the equipment has run consistently for more than 5000 recorded

H&H Stone’s SandStorm 620 has produced in-spec concrete sand from a previous waste stream.

hours and produced more than two million tonnes of in-spec concrete sand from a previous waste stream material.

GLOBAL AFFILIATIONS MWS Washing Systems designs and manufactures a full range of modular, mobile and static washing equipment for the aggregates, waste and recycling, and construction and demolition sectors. In 2019, MWS became a part of the Metso Corporation, which offers equipment solutions and services for the global mining, aggregates, recycling and process industries.

In January 2021, MWS Washing Systems will be launching a new brand identity that will support the evolution of its washing capabilities.

In Australia, MWS Washing Systems plant is available through national distributor 888 Crushing & Screening Equipment. • Source: MWS Washing Systems/ 888 Crushing & Screening Equipment

Quarry December 2020 29

SAND PROCESSING

FILLING THE SAND GAP, CREATING A NEW REVENUE STREAM

As the sand market becomes more lucrative, rock and gravel quarries are expanding to make use of the fines generated by their crushing circuits. A sand wash plant is the ideal medium for enabling operators to take advantage of this growing market.

H

umble sand is one of the foundations of modern life. A key component in cement, glass, paper and silicon chips, it underpins everything from your home to your mobile phone, and the international demand for sand has never been higher.

These attractive market conditions have led owners of traditional rock and gravel quarries to examine how they can maximise the sand produced as a by-product of their regular operations. Let’s take a quick look at the market and the geological forces driving this rising demand, and how quarry owners can best take advantage of them.

Weir Minerals, recalls a story of a sand deposit in New South Wales where the site operators were lamenting the amount of washing required to create a saleable product. Each grain of sand was covered in a fine layer of organic material, making sand washing a critical process to remove silts and clays to acceptable levels.With demand high and usable sand deposits in short supply, research is being done into substitute materials, such as the utilisation of bamboo – but this work is still very much in the exploratory phase.

There is, however, one market-ready, sustainable substitute to natural sand.

NOT ALL SAND IS EQUAL Not all sand is created equal and most of the world’s accessible sand deposits, such as deserts, are near useless when it comes to sand’s most critical applications. For most commercial uses, angular sand, usually found in riverbeds and beaches, is far more useful than the smooth sand of the deserts.

The angular sand binds together much more strongly and can often contain moisture which reduces costs in concrete production.

However, extracting sand from these locations is increasingly difficult, often due to environmental legislation designed to limit the ecological impact of sand operations on remaining wetlands.

As a broad trend, the easier to access and clean angular sand deposits are already being extracted and processed. Now sand producers are evaluating remote or contaminated sources of sand which they would not have considered 10 years ago.

Fred Purches, the head of comminution at

MANUFACTURED SAND Today, the answer to sand depletion is to simply create more sand. As sand remains the optimum material for concrete and glass, the industry is focusing on alternative methods of production rather than materials.

Manufactured sand (aka man-sand or M-sand) is the production of sand from other materials. Producers use crushing and screening plants to crush rock to the size of sand particles, with the ability to create specific particle shapes and sizes using a variety of equipment and screening techniques. For example, a vertical impact crusher can create a fractured sand particle from rock which mimics the angular/cubic shape of most river sand.

M-sand has a number of drawbacks, such as its lack of moisture content, which increases the water consumed to ensure the product’s workability. Furthermore, manufactured sand contains more fines, requiring a washing and screening process before the end product can be sold.

30

Quarry December 2020

There are some benefits, too. Although the sand requires washing, man-sand is less likely to contain silt or clay, lowering the risk of contamination.

Both traditional and non-traditional sand producers are now recognising the potential for man-sand to generate a sizable return, which has the potential to increase as production is optimised.

FROM WASTE TO REVENUE STREAM Sand has traditionally been a by-product for quarries – with an emphasis on removing all fines from a crushing circuit in order to avoid clogging the equipment. After this separation, quarries usually disposed of the fines as a waste product. As the sand market became more lucrative, traditional rock and gravel quarries have begun to expand their operations to make use of the fines generated by their crushing circuits.

Michael Bunney, comminution sales specialist at Weir Minerals, cites an example of a quarry in Queensland where stone has been historically washed to keep the dust levels down – a regular practice in New Zealand, but less common in Australia.

To maximise their resources, quarry owners now look at their dirty water as a new stream for manufactured sand and other construction components. Flushing small stones, silt and clay from their tailings ponds through the Weir Minerals sand wash plant can help the customer recover valuable, sellable materials.

Another emerging producer of man-sand is the recycling industry – the glass that we collect in our recycling bins can be crushed to create sand.

Again, a sand wash plant is a critical piece of equipment in this process as it can be used to wash the broken glass from sugars and other contaminants.

SUPPORTING SHIFTING PRIORITIES Today we’re seeing an explosion of new entrants into the market with varying levels of sand production experience. If you’re looking to include sand washing and production in your quarry’s process, Weir Minerals specialists can assist, with equipment and expertise developed over decades in the business and a support network of 16 service centres operating throughout Australia.

They offer a variety of solutions to suit a producer’s operations and objectives – from a custom-built plant to a highly engineered compact wash plant using the latest technology to a traditional low cost and midcapacity product such as sand screws.

Weir Minerals’ new range of compact sand wash plants is ideally suited to operations looking to expand into this new market. Its complete solutions are designed to reliably

for sale aPProvEd FrEEhold hIGh QualITy Quarry

Two Cavex hydrocyclones against the skyline amidst sand stockpiles.

take care of the vital process of washing sourced or manufactured sand for sale.

As quarry operators look at maximising their resources, the Weir Minerals sand wash plant is an efficient way to extract all materials that can be sold. The optional variable frequency drive (VFD) ensures the plant continues to operate at its optimum, regardless of any changes in feed. The VFD can also reduce the plant’s overall power consumption and commissioning time, while increasing the wear life of the pump.

Although this plant contains industry-leading technology, including a Warman slurry pump, an Enduron dewatering screen, Linatex hose

and rubber and a Cavex hydrocyclone, it is not a black box. Weir’s plants are designed to be portable, easy to assemble, maintain and operate. This plant can meet the needs of even the most experienced sand producer while proving intuitive and easy to operate for even a new entrant into the market.

However, no one size fits all solutions for sand production. Weir Minerals’ expert engineers will work with producers to identify and implement the best solution for their objectives, whether that be upgrading existing machinery to take advantage of this changing market or a custom-built sand wash plant. • Source: Weir Minerals

Under Instructions from Caspagold Pty Ltd T/s Booyal Quarries Pty Ltd

Booyal FrEEhold Quarry

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52

The Freehold Quarry is being offered For SalE on a “Walk In Walk out” basis.

Detailed information is available from the marketing agents:

Graham Messer Industrial Auctioneers & Valuers Pty Ltd Graham Messer: Mobile 0417 771 642 Email: graham@grahammesser.com.au

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A1

To Maryborough Cordabla

In 2017, Sheehan Group reached the milestone of diverting more than 500,000 tonnes of waste from UK landfill sites using CDE’s recycling plant.

SAND PROCESSING

OPTIMISING CONCRETE

WITH RECYCLED SAND, AGGREGATES Virgin sand and aggregates have long been touted for their strength and quality over recycled aggregates. However, as Eunan Kelly explains, the quality and structural integrity of recycled sand and aggregates is now as good - if not better - than the originals.

W

hen supported with the appropriate processing practices and technology, sand and stone resources recovered from construction, demolition and excavation (CD&E) activities are suitable for high value construction and infrastructure projects.

UK statistics on waste, published by the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, estimates the UK generated 221 million tonnes of total waste in 2016, with CD&E activities accounting for more than three-fifths (62 per cent) of that total.1 The industry is the single largest contributor to waste generation in the UK by some margin, accounting for more than five times that of household waste which is 12 per cent of total waste generated.

These waste resources can be recovered to a high specification and returned to 32

Quarry December 2020

the construction sector to further the UK’s circular economy.

In the materials processing industry, we’re having to speak out in defence of recycled sand and aggregates and lobby for attitudinal change to encourage greater acceptance and adoption of recycled materials.

We’re often told it’s not possible to produce structurally sound concrete from recycled sand and aggregates or it’s unfeasible to replicate the water-to-cement ratio with recycled products to produce a durable concrete. Some people have even suggested that concrete produced from recycled aggregates has more embodied carbon than concrete produced from natural materials. These are arguments our industry is faced with regularly, and misconceptions that we move to challenge.

Today, research is ongoing to identify alternatives to sand and aggregates in concrete production. Some of the research centres around the use of wood, shredded up vehicle components and other unnatural concrete constituents. Such research seemingly disregards CD&E, our largest waste stream, and fails to recognise the fact that much of the material in this stream originates from the natural constituents of concrete and therefore lends itself perfectly to producing concrete.

Though a huge social issue, the volume of plastic waste does not represent anywhere near the same as that of CD&E waste.

Unlike plastic, sand and stone recovered from CD&E waste, a product that has been heavily processed for its original use, shares the same or similar geological make-up to that of virgin materials.

LOGICAL ANSWER To combat depleting natural sand and aggregate resources we should better utilise the abundant incoming CD&E waste stream.

In its appraisal, concrete produced from recycled sand and aggregates is unfairly pitted against higher strength concrete produced using virgin aggregates, such as granite or basalt, and natural sand. It is fair to say that not all granite or sandstone deposits display the same strength characteristics and therefore selective enduse logic is applied.

The same is true for sand and aggregates recovered from CD&E waste. Given the variability of rock geologies and other manmade aggregates, such as brick and bound concrete, we must also apply the same end-use logic.

This should not, however, undermine the potential of concrete produced from recycled materials. It is a case of identifying the strength of concrete that can be produced from recycled sand and

aggregates and then pinpointing suitable applications for the product. It should also be pointed out that current wet processing technologies deployed by CDE around the world can produce washed sand and aggregates that when used in the production of similar strength concrete are comparable in cement consumption.

Low strength granite or gritstone would not be used to construct a multi-storey building, but we can identify suitable concrete strength applications for their use. Similarly, with CD&E material, we may never use it to construct that same multi-storey building, but there are still many applications for which it is suitable. For example, Thompson Recycling, based in Scotland, produces a wide range of products for the construction sector using C&D waste. With the support of CDE technology the company is able to replicate the grading of local virgin sand deposits to provide the local construction market with a viable and creditable alternative to natural resources. Such is the

quality of the recycled sand and aggregates it extracts from C&D waste, its 100 per cent recycled sand is BSI-approved for structural concrete.

Current concrete strength specifications allow for recycled aggregates to be used in the appropriate proportions to produce the required strength. It’s probably fair to say that the majority of concrete produced is C40 or below. About 75 per cent of all concrete used globally is non-structural which begs the question: Why use structural grade aggregates to produce non-structural concrete? Surely we would use the appropriate material provided it gives us the appropriate outcome. In so many cases globally CDE customers are producing competitive concrete for these non-structural – but still high value – construction projects, with some applications successfully achieving beyond C45.

Determining whether a recycled concrete product is fit for purpose or not is dependent on how it is processed and its intended use.

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SAND PROCESSING

Indeed, the Sheehan Group, one of the UK’s leading regional construction groups, has diverted more than 750,000 tonnes of inert waste from landfill over the past seven years. It creates 20,000 building blocks a day from 100 per cent recycled aggregates which follows a CE-certified process.

Improved and advanced technology now sees cement consumption reduced by 10 per cent and Sheehan Group is still achieving the same high quality specification and end product.

The group’s success shows that with the appropriate practices and the backing of the latest wet processing technology, high quality in-spec sand and aggregate products can be extracted from CD&E waste and returned to support new construction and infrastructure, both consistently and competitively.

It is important to acknowledge, however, that poor processing practices impact uptake and acceptance in the usability of recycled materials. This is due to antiquated or less efficient technologies that fail to effectively remove contaminants, such as wood and plastic, from feedstock. The presence of these contaminants impacts upon the strength and structure of concrete.

MEETING GROWING DEMAND Soaring urbanisation presents a global challenge to meet the demands of the construction industry, and recycled materials are an effective solution when supported with the most appropriate technologies and practices.

It was anticipated that by 2050, more than two-thirds of the world’s population (68 per cent) would be living in urban settings, according to data from the United Nations, rising from around 55 per cent of the population today.2 Combined with projections of population growth, trends in urbanisation could add up to 2.5 billion to urban settings over the next 30 years.

It remains to be seen how the COVID-19 pandemic will impact population growth, but it will undoubtedly weigh on future planning considerations for construction and infrastructure as a means to mitigate against the threat of disruption caused by future pandemics.

Economies have been hit hard by the crisis and as history has shown governments tend to respond by investing in infrastructure to kickstart the economy or in construction to

34

Quarry December 2020

The CDE recycling plant at Velde Pukk AS, in Stavenger, Norway.

reshore manufacturing facilities, which we’re already seeing in the UK, USA and Australia.

This is where CDE Global’s technology will add value by maximising the quality, quantity and value of waste resources.

Currently an estimated 40 to 50 billion tonnes of primary aggregates – crushed rock, sand and gravel – is extracted every year, and the Global Aggregates Information Network (GAIN), in its global outlook to 2030, estimates aggregates production will rise to 60 billion tonnes per year in the next decade to support urban population growth.3 CDE Global customer Velde Pukk AS plays a significant role in meeting the material demands in Stavanger, Norway, in the face of a construction boom. Utilising high quality recycled aggregates and its on-site concrete batching plant, Velde Pukk AS supplies the construction industry with a CE-certified concrete from 100 per cent recycled sand and aggregates. Likewise, AF Gruppen, also based in Norway, produces high quality washed sands and aggregates which also have Norwegian standard certification.

products that can be used to produce concrete products.

Like so many of CDE’s pioneering customers leading the charge for a circular economy, and which have demonstrated the potential in CD&E waste by achieving certification for their recycled products, we need to recognise the strength and integrity of using recycled materials.

The recycling sector will continue to grow and it will gradually become more competitive. CDE is working with its customers to stay ahead of that curve and to adopt efficient, sustainable technologies that are future-ready. Those customers who have integrated wet processing technology into their plant are reaping the commercial advantages of superior end products and are facilitating sustainable construction by recovering high quality recycled materials. •

CERTIFIED It would be wrong to assume recycled sand and aggregates are only selected as alternatives to finite virgin materials in low strength and low value applications. CDE Global’s process improves the quality of recycled sand and aggregates by removing foreign contaminants and classifying the output, resulting in higher spec recycled

uk/government/statistics/uk-waste-data

Eunan Kelly is the, head of Reco at CDE Global, the company’s CD&E waste recycling focused division.

REFERENCES & FURTHER READING 1 UK statistics on waste, March 2020 Update. gov.

2 United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA). youtube.com/ watch?v=XN92srq5jwg 3 (2019) UN Environment Programme.

Sand and Sustainability: Finding new solutions for environmental governance of global sand resources. wedocs.unep.org/ handle/20.500.11822/28163

MAINTENANCE

CRUSHER PERFORMANCE BOOSTED

BY DRIVE BELT UPGRADE

C

rushers are the backbone of any quarry operation, so it’s imperative that they are always operating, rain, hail or shine.

“A blocked or jammed crusher puts the drive system under immense strain, which can cause v-belts to slip and squeal until the blockage is cleared,” said Mark Brocherie, the district manager at BSC. “Belt slippage creates excessive heat in and around the v-belts and pulleys, resulting in accelerated wear life for the drive belts.

“When the drive belts eventually fail it’s an urgent rush for the site to pull the guards off, inspect the belts, then begin searching for the spare set that’s meant to be on-site. If the spare set cannot be located, we’ll likely get the phone call from the quarry manager hoping that BSC have the stock locally to keep things going.”

This ongoing challenge caused a major hard rock quarry in Queensland considerable operational downtimes as the crusher drive belts slipped or failed frequently, requiring operators to stop the conveyors until the problem was resolved.

“Our customer was experiencing poor belt life on their main Barmac crusher which utilised standard v-belts, that only lasted two to three months,” Brocherie explained. “These belts tended to slip frequently on start-up and would struggle to properly drive the crusher during blockages and jam-ups.

“Every time these particular belts failed, operations were delayed by two to four hours until new belts were located or ordered.

Guards would then be removed, and new belts fitted. This put the quarry manager under a huge amount of pressure as production was halted until the new belts were fitted,” he added.

The BSC team’s recommendation to resolve this issue was to upgrade the belts on the Barmac crusher to Carlisle Power-Wedge CogBelts to maximise their efficiency and extend the belts’ life.

“The Carlisle Power-Wedge Cog-Belt offers better grip on the drive and is therefore less prone to slipping, which is why we suggested the quarry upgrade to this belt,” Brocherie explained. “This is because of the raw edge design of the belt. The gripping power of the raw edge sidewalls allows the belt to grip

The Barmac crusher on the quarry site.

Standard-duty belts on the Barmac crusher.

tighter in the pulley to reduce belt slippage.

The cogged construction also allows the belts to run cooler.

“Most importantly, Carlisle Power-Wedge Cog-Belts have a higher horsepower rating compared to the standard v-belts. As a result, they can handle shock loads better than the standard belts. This in turn extends the belt life and reduces maintenance costs considerably.”

To demonstrate the higher power ratings, Brocherie ran an analysis using Carlisle’s Drive Engineer web app, which showed that the SPCX4500 Power-Wedge Cog-Belts offered 49.08 kilowatt (kW) capacity per belt compared to 37.39kW capacity per belt in the SPC4500 standard duty v-belts.

“Our customer was initially sceptical about the cogged construction of the belts, fearing that some rocks might get stuck in the cogs and affect the performance of the belt and the drive,” Brocherie said. “So, we ran a trial and the managers were quite impressed with the result. They have since started incorporating the Power-Wedge Cog-Belts into their other applications throughout the site with success.”

Following the upgrade, Brocherie said the service life of the belts on the crusher increased to one year, from the previous average of only a couple of months.

“It’s proven to be very convenient for the quarry as they can now replace the belts during their scheduled annual maintenance period rather than getting unexpected downtimes throughout the year.”

With the Carlisle Power-Wedge Cog-Belts offering a cost-effective solution to upgrade the crusher, Brocherie said other mines and quarries can look at a similar solution for their

crushers and conveyor drives.

“This quarry is no different to any hard rock quarry in Australia and if it can work here, there’s no reason other sites can’t reap the same benefits,” he said.

Brocherie recommends on-site surveys and engaging with his strong engineering team to help identify problems before they arise.

Otherwise, these will result in major delays and inefficiencies if not accounted for. In the case of the hard rock quarry, a thorough site survey by the BSC team identified excessive wear and cracking of the belts, which eventually resulted in the crusher belt upgrade.

“By conducting a site survey and reporting back to the quarry manager, the BSC team can give the quarry a better understanding of what alternative products are available and what upgrades can be introduced to the site.”

“The Carlisle Power-Wedge Cog-Belt goes beyond that and offers a superior material called ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM). EPDM is durable and resistant to oil, heat, hardening and glazing. Carlisle belts made of EPDM have superior flex and load carrying capacity with a broad operating temperature range of -10°C to +120°C,” he added.

“Often the reason people buy the standard duty belts is that they need a quick replacement to get their equipment back on and it’s easier to buy what has been used before. But, by being proactive and running a site survey, we can help you find solutions that are better fitted to your application and can offer long-term benefits,” he concluded. • Source: Motion Asia Pacific

Quarry December 2020 35

SURVEILLANCE

ALLIANCE TO EXTEND USE OF ROBOTS IN SITE SURVEILLANCE APPS

G

lobal hardware, software and services technology provider Trimble and American engineering and robotics company Boston Dynamics have announced a strategic alliance to integrate a variety of construction data collection technologies with Boston Dynamics’ Spot robot platform.

The jointly developed solution will combine the Spot robot’s autonomous mobility with Trimble’s data collection sensors and field control software to enable automation of repetitive tasks such as site scans, surveying and progress monitoring, while taking advantage of the robot’s unique capabilities to navigate dynamic and potentially unsafe environments. The relationship gives Trimble exclusivity to sell and support the Spot robot with integrated scanning, total station and GNSS technologies for the construction market.

This turnkey solution will streamline operation of the robot and provide quality control for missions, enabling construction project managers to easily get a clear picture of jobsite progress on an ongoing basis. Trimble technologies integrated with the robot enable accurate, scalable and rapid data acquisition while Trimble’s construction collaboration platforms provide a continuous flow of information between field and office. In addition, customers will benefit from world class support and service from Trimble and its distribution partners.

Mortenson, a US builder, developer and engineering services provider based in Minneapolis is one of the first customers to leverage the competitive advantages of this new technology combination. Mortenson has a strong history of LEAN innovation and project technology expertise. In this spirit of eliminating jobsite waste and increasing efficiency, the team has been piloting Spot robots with Trimble’s SPS986 GNSS solutions to autonomously navigate challenging exterior construction environments such as solar farms to continuously document existing site conditions. An automated and repeatable approach to field data capture can provide Mortenson with real time awareness of project status, helping to accelerate project delivery.

Through Trimble’s Early Experience Program, 36

Quarry December 2020

The Spot robot is being used with Trimble’s SPS986 GNSS solutions to navigate challenging exterior environments to document site conditions.

contractors such as Mortenson have advanced access to this technology for the purposes of evaluating its suitability in actual construction projects.

“Robots will play a crucial role in automated construction workflows and can augment the human workforce by handling dirty, dull and dangerous tasks,” said Martin Holmgren, the building field solutions general manager at Trimble. “Our experience with early adopters like Mortenson gave us visibility into the transformative potential of an integrated solution that seamlessly marries a world-class robot with construction-specific sensors and workflows. We’re excited about this alliance and the potential to bring unprecedented improvements in safety, quality and productivity to our construction customers.”

Michael Perry, the vice president of business development at Boston Dynamics, said “the combination of Trimble’s experience and industry leadership in construction technologies and Boston Dynamics’ Spot can transform the way the industry operates”.

“The integrated solution will enable any jobsite leader to deploy Spot and Trimble technologies to get an accurate view of construction progress through real time data collection,” Perry said. “With a more comprehensive view of site activity, project managers can take proactive measures to ensure on-time, onbudget and safer project delivery.”

The integrated solution is expected to be available by the second quarter of 2021 through Boston Dynamics, Trimble and select BuildingPoint and SITECH distribution partners in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Through Trimble’s Early Experience Program, select customers will have the opportunity to preview development of the solution in advance of general availability.

More information about the new partnership can be found on the Trimble and Boston Dynamics websites: construction.trimble.com/ spot and bostondynamics.com/spot • Source: Trimble

CONNECTING THE LOADER SCALE VIA THE IOT These days, most aggregates managers and equipment operators recognise the benefits of loader scales for more accurate loading, weighing, hauling and all-around operational efficiency. What’s less known is that connecting wheel loaders can transform them from a versatile piece of yellow iron into a digital IoT business tool (Figure 1), eg: •T he connected pit loader measures the real time extraction rate (tonnes per hour) and reports on the total number of trucks loaded and tonnage moved, in addition to loading each truck to its maximum capability.

•W hen used with a mobile crusher, the connected loader updates the stockpile inventory in real time by measuring feed material going in and subtracts product loaded onto trucks.

•A t loadout, the connected loader will help

eliminate overloading the trucks while also sending eTickets and transaction records to the truck drivers and customers, digitising the delivery logistics.

This contactless process improves both safety and efficiency.

•D igital records make integration with scale house possible and will further simplify the process and gain additional productivity.

•S ite management is transformed, as managers can track more than machine activities. Site operation key metrics will be readily available in real time – anytime, anywhere – using a smart device.

•R eporting is simplified because users can streamline loader data reports, to alert managers to only the exceptions they care about for immediate action.

Source: Trimble

Figure 1. How the Internet of Things can connect the loader scale to practically every other point of a quarrying operation. Graphics supplied by aggregates.trimble.com

LOAD & HAUL

AUTONOMOUS TRANSPORT

WILL HAPPEN IN QUARRIES FIRST: OEM

C

reating solutions capable of maximising transport efficiency through advanced automation is the goal of an entire industry. For one division of an earthmoving OEM, it’s likely to happen first in the controlled world of quarrying and mining.

After developing steadily, step by careful step, for more than 100 years, the automotive world is currently in the grip of a two-sided revolution: on the one side, under pressure to reduce carbon emissions by going electric, and on the other, striving to reach the “Holy Grail” of transport – the vehicle/machine that doesn’t need an operator. While great strides have been taken in the switch to hybrid and all-electric drive, creating autonomous transport is proving harder to perfect.

“Automation has struggled in the mainstream automotive world because they are trying to get autonomous vehicles to work everywhere and safely co-exist with all the variables of life – cars, trucks, bikes, people, dogs, cats – you name it,” said Perjohan Rosdahl, head of Off-Road at Volvo Autonomous Solutions, part of the broader Volvo Group, which comprises Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE).

“Solving all these issues at the same time is proving to be an enormously complex challenge, even for the world’s biggest automotive and technology companies. Our approach is to start small, in a tightly confined environment and build on our successes over time. A perfect place to start is quarries, which have clearly defined load and dump locations over generally short circuits.”

START SIMPLE, THEN GROW The move to autonomous machines will not be simply a case of replacing a machine with an operator to one without. Autonomous machines will prompt the automation of the whole process and require a new way of looking at the entire operation. Volvo Autonomous Solutions was created on 1 January, 2020 to develop and commercialise autonomous transport solutions for the whole Volvo Group.

As well as providing adapted machines from within the Volvo Group, Volvo 38

Quarry December 2020

The experimental HX2 autonomous, battery-electric load carrier has already been employed in trials in Sweden in the past year.

Autonomous Solutions will support customers with solutions to autonomous machines’ other challenges, namely the supporting infrastructure, control towers, repair and maintenance, virtual drivers and even running of operations if required.

“It’s as much about a new mindset as it is about developing autonomous machines,” said Uwe Müller, the sales and marketing lead for Off Road Solutions at Volvo Autonomous Solutions. “We are talking about automating a transport process, not just selling a single machine. Because of that we need to develop a total solution to manage this full process.”

AUTONOMOUS ENABLED PLATFORMS Volvo Autonomous Solutions is working closely with the Volvo Group’s other business areas, especially Volvo CE in the off-road segment. This ensures that new machines, whether developed specifically to be autonomous – like Volvo’s award-winning TA-15 hauler – or traditional operator-based equipment, use the same autonomous drive platforms, coding languages, etc. This allows them to be “talked to” in the same way, as well as offering the ability to scale up easily.

Not all machines will be autonomous but being “autonomous enabled” allows Volvo Autonomous Solutions to supercharge the standard products into operatorless machines, using its own proprietary autonomous drive kit.

QUARRIES AND MINES “To reduce the complexity of the world we need to standardise the process as much as possible,” Müller said. “In quarries we can do this as they are in a confined area, are highly regulated and it’s easier to separate autonomous transport from other processes.

Involving loading and dumping, the process itself is simple and repetitive.”

“We are starting small with less complex use cases and will build on our successes,” said Rosdahl. “With the right customer partners, the next step could be underground mining and tunnel applications – autonomous machines (especially electric ones) work just as well in the dark as in the light, and it’s good to remove people as much as possible from these hazardous locations. From there we could focus on large earthmoving projects that are still contained but have more variables to cope with, as our technology becomes more embedded over time.”

Improved process optimisation, lower energy consumption and improved safety are just three of the benefits of autonomous machines. According to the Volvo Autonomous Solutions team, there are lots of R&D challenges to be overcome – and they will be – but it will not be a technical innovation that makes the breakthrough – that requires changes in legislation and a new mindset as to how the whole process can operate more effectively. Autonomous solutions are coming, and they will be disruptive to current business models.

In the past year, Volvo CE has engaged in trials in Sweden to develop the world’s first “emission-free” quarry. The aim was to electrify each transport stage in a quarry from excavation to primary crushing and transport to secondary crushing. Volvo CE supplied numerous experimental earthmoving vehicles to this trial at Vikan Kross Quarry, including eight HX2 autonomous, batteryelectric load carriers, which transported the material from the primary mobile crusher to the secondary static crusher.

In Australia, the national distributor of Volvo CE earthmoving vehicles is CJD Equipment. • Source: Volvo Construction Equipment

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LOAD & HAUL

FIRST GREEN BOND ISSUED TO DRIVE ENVIRONMENTAL DEVELOPMENTS

A

s an indication of Komatsu’s global commitment to sustainable business operations, the company has announced it will be issuing its first “green bond” through a public offering on the Japanese bond market.

Green bonds are designed to raise funds for exclusive use in business initiatives which work to help solve environmental problems.

To be issued by Komatsu Ltd, the company plans to use the proceeds from this green bond to research and develop, manufacture and distribute products such as hybrid hydraulic excavators and electric construction equipment – which allow for significant reductions in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions during their lifetimes.

In addition, proceeds from the bond will be used to further develop services which support fuel-efficient machine operations, such as Komtrax and SMARTCONSTRUCTION, with their focus on information communications technology (ICT) to improve fleet, machine and project efficiency.

Komatsu also plans to apply the funds towards developing facilities and equipment to help reduce CO2 emissions in manufacturing, and increase the ratio of renewable energy use.

Komatsu’s announcement of its green bonds issue is part of its three-year midterm management plan – Dantotsu Value Forward together for sustainable growth – to be completed by 31 March, 2022, said Colin Shaw, Komatsu’s executive general manager for people and strategy.

“Komatsu is committed to making efforts for sustainable growth through a positive cycle of improving earnings and solving environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues,” Shaw said.

“Under this management plan, we have developed 20-year targets for the period between 2010 and 2030, which include reducing our CO2 emissions by 50 per cent and increasing our ratio of using renewable energy to 50 per cent of total energy use.

“That is an important driver of our program to provide high quality, high performance products, services, and solutions – all designed to reduce environmental impacts, 40

Quarry December 2020

The Komatsu HB335LC hybrid excavator in operation. Offering green bonds will enable the company to further invest in its hybrid electric/diesel technology.

particularly in relation to climate change – as well as enhance safety.

“With the proceeds from this green bond, Komatsu will further accelerate our efforts to help achieve zero net carbon emissions across the global economy,” Shaw added.

“Komatsu has been proactive in researching and developing products and services that contribute to fuel efficiency – which in turn reduce CO2 emissions – for many years.”

Shaw said the issuing of the green bond “is a significant part of our global Komatsu sustainable strategy. Here in Australia, we are also committed to reducing our carbon emissions, through the use of solar power generation and low energy products at our facilities throughout the country.

“And as our customers become more aware of environmental issues, and the business and environmental benefits of more fuel-efficient products and services, they’ll be looking to suppliers such as ourselves to be taking the lead.”

As part of its “Dantotsu Value”’, Komatsu has also recently launched the One World One Komatsu program. This is a Komatsu global employee initiative that encourages

all of the organisation’s employees to participate in sustainable actions at work or at home and collectively make a difference to humanity’s quality of life.

“The One World program is a fantastic opportunity for our people to build on Komatsu’s sustainability commitment and continue to develop a culture that prioritises the environment, sustainability for future generations and individual well-being,” Shaw said. “Employee engagement and community connection is a primary driver to the program’s success.

“For those who sign up to be part of the program, their actions are tracked and through an environmental calculation these actions are turned into real life measures of success, like the amount of reduced CO2 emissions released, number of trees saved or planted, waste not sent to landfill and much, much more!” Shaw said.

“This is an exciting era and we’re looking forward to a brighter and more sustainable world,” he said. • Source: Komatsu Australia

GOING MOBILE

FUEL ECONOMY DRIVES CONTRACTOR’S MOBILE PLANT PURCHASE

A

round 90 minutes’ drive from Kununurra in the scenic Eastern Kimberley region of far northern Western Australia, you will find the Ridges Iron Ore mine site.

Going back almost 10 years, Kleemann was the mobile crushing and screening manufacturer chosen for this project by a previous contractor.

Back then, the plant was an MC120Z mobile jaw crusher (which was later replaced by the larger MC125Z mobile jaw crusher), and three MCO13S mobile cone crushers (with integrated classifying screens).

Fast forward to the present, and once again the contractor at Ridges has chosen Kleemann as the preferred brand of machine, as the distributor could not only provide the right equipment needed to process the material, but also the back-up to provide the continued support during the project lifetime.

Kleemann is a brand of the Wirtgen Group, a John Deere-owned company and a renowned German manufacturer of road and mineral technology machines, including Kleemann, Wirtgen, Vogele, Hamm and Benninghoven.

The customer is Indus Mining, which is headquartered in Perth and has a history of delivering complex projects in remote locations all over Australia.

Indus Mining employs more than 150 people nationally and has been focused on mining and civil infrastructure projects for more than 10 years. The company has extensive experience in pit-to-port operations, including project management, contract open-cut mining, drilling and blasting, mineral and processing facilities, loading and haulage, and port management.

The Kleemann machines selected for the Ridges Iron Ore project in 2020 include the MC120PRO mobile jaw crusher, the MCO11PRO mobile cone crusher and two MS952EVO mobile screens.

The diesel-electric MC120PRO has a feed capacity of up to 650 tonnes per hour (tph).

It utilises advanced technology such as a reversible jaw, and the Kleemann constant feed system (CFS) system that ensures maximum production when combined with the intuitive SPECTIVE operation interface. There is also a discharge conveyor mounted “stockpile

One of the two MS952EVO mobile screens on active duty at the Ridges Iron Ore mine site.

sensor” that reads the hopper material level of the downstream machine, and allows the MC120PRO to adjust its own production settings accordingly.

The MCO11PRO has a feed capacity of up to 470 tph. This diesel-electric, variable speed crushing unit is also fitted with the CFS system and intuitive SPECTIVE operation interface, coupled with a discharge conveyormounted stockpile sensor that reads the downstream machine hopper level to enable self-adjustment of production settings. There is also a machine-mounted and electricallydriven return conveyor, to link up with oversize material from the screen.

The two diesel-hydraulic MS952EVO screens, each with a feed capacity of up to 500 tph, feature foldable side conveyors for fast and efficient transport, and variable speed conveyors for total control over operation during production.

Another feature of these machines is a remotely operated, hydraulically folding grate over the feed hopper, to ensure that no oversize ends up in the screen feed material.

A key benefit of the diesel-electric machines that the producer will appreciate as the project goes on is the fuel economy when compared to competitors.

The MC120PRO is currently averaging around 17 to 18 litres per hour (lt/hr) during production, the MCO11PRO around 23 to 25 lt/hr, and the MS952 around 12 to 13 lt/hr.

Although all of the machines have fast fuel connections installed to reduce downtime and increase safety during refuelling, the fuel economy achieved ensures that these refills can be scheduled to fit production needs,

rather than stopping output.

Another feature of the MC120PRO and MCO11PRO (and on selected other Kleemann models) is the Wirtgen Group WITOS system.

This enables the owner to remotely: •C heck if the machine is currently operating (and monitor historical operation time).

•C heck the exact GPS location of the machine.

•C heck current machine hours.

•C heck current/historical diesel rpm (useful for variable speed machines such as the MCO11PRO to show operating conditions).

•C heck the current/historical fuel usage rate.

•C heck for active/historical messages on the machines to assist with fault finding.

•C heck for historical messages to monitor machine operation.

•E nable Wirtgen Group technicians (and Kleemann Germany factory technicians) to assist with machine operation and fault finding.

• Receive notification of upcoming scheduled maintenance.

• Receive notification of active faults.

• Receive notification of machine movement outside of a predetermined GPS ring-fence.

The above is only a selection of the many benefits the WITOS system provides to enable the owner to maximise all aspects of running a mobile crushing plant through key material data extraction, including reports and tabulated information of choice.

Bringing all of the aforementioned technology together allows Indus Mining the ability to forward plan production needs.

The low grade ore material from Ridges is then transported via road train to a shipping facility in Wyndham for export.

Wirtgen Australia continues a partnership with Indus Mining comprising Kleemann mobile crushing and screening solutions that is of benefit to all parties. • Source: Wirtgen Australia

Quarry December 2020 41

EDUCATION

THE JOHARI WINDOW MODEL:

A FEEDBACK MODEL OF SELF-AWARENESS

T

he Johari Window model was created in 1955 by psychologists Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham as a non-intrusive and empirical method of self-discovery, during a group dynamics program in the University of California. Luft and Ingham named their model “Johari” using a combination of their first names but it is sometimes referred to as an information processing tool or disclosure/feedback model of self-awareness.

The model is based on two fundamental concepts: 1. Trust can be acquired by revealing information about yourself to others.

2. You gain unknown, and perhaps, enlightening insights about yourselves from the feedback you receive from others.

The Johari Window Model is a widely used model for understanding and training self-awareness, personal development, improving communications, interpersonal relationships, group dynamics, team development and inter-group relationships.

I frequently utilise the Johari Window, in both my workshop and one-on-one coaching sessions to create an atmosphere of safety and trust. I start by sharing a fairly well known piece of information about myself and I check that everyone was already aware of those facts. I then tell the person or group something about myself that is unlikely to be known by them. Depending on the situation, this may be quite a revealing piece of information, and I then ask them to share, or reveal, something about myself that I either do not already know or do not believe is common knowledge, eg I may not be aware that I have a personal idiosyncrasy of playing with coins in my pocket when making a presentation.

Through their willingness to share this quirk with me, I have learnt something about myself that was previously unknown and I can take appropriate action, if necessary.

After duly thanking the person, or persons, you have the opportunity to go through the same process with them and improve your perceptions about them. It is an enlightening and simple technique to encourage open and congruent discussion.

42

Quarry December 2020

Figure 1. The Johari Window model is represented as a common window with four panes.

In simple terms, the Johari Window model offers an opportunity for improved self-awareness and personal development among individuals when they are in a group – through better understanding of their relationship with themselves and others – while enhancing their perceptions on those others.

The model is represented as a common window with four panes (Figure 1). Two of these panes represent self and the other two panes represent the parts unknown to self but to others.

Information transfers from one pane to the other – as shown by the arrows – is due to the open disclosure that results from the mutual trust which has been established, through joint feedback and socialising amongst other members of the group, prior to the exercise.

THE JOHARI WINDOW MODEL The model comprises the following panes: Pane # 1. Open/self-area or free area. The information shared here is about the person, their attitudes, behaviour, emotions, feelings, skills and views. It will be known by the person as well as by others.

Since Pane # 1 represents the area where all communication occurs, the larger it becomes the more effectual and dynamic the relationship will be.

Actively seeking feedback from others, and listening for understanding is a key to decreasing your blind spots while increasing the open area for trustworthy

communication. Through openly revealing more about oneself to the other person, the size of this pane can also be increased by moving it downwards into the hidden areas of Pane # 3 and across into the unknown areas of Pane # 4 .

Pane # 2. Blind/self-area or blind spot. This represents Information about you, that other people in that group may know, but of which you will be totally unaware. Others may see, interpret, read, feel or think differently about you than you expect. These blind spots in your self-awareness are reduced when you seek honest, and constructive feedback from others.

Pane # 3. Hidden area or façade. This represents the area that is kept for information that is known to you but that information will remain unknown to others unless you share it with them. This area usually holds personal information, including feelings, fears, secrets, past experiences, etc, which you feel reluctant to reveal. Sometimes feelings and personal information is considered too sensitive or strictly private, since its disclosure may have an impact on those relationships. However, in a trustworthy environment that seeks open communication, it is important to reduce this hidden area with open disclosure that move hidden facts into Pane # 1, the ever increasing open areas.

Pane # 4. Unknown area. This represents the area where information, about which neither you nor others are unaware, is stored. It includes the information, feelings, capabilities, talents, etc, which may be due to traumatic past experiences or events which can be unknown for a lifetime, or you may be totally unaware of these facts, or information, until at some stage you discover – or others recognise and/or observe – hidden talents, innate qualities or untried capabilities.

Open communication is also an effective way to decrease the unknown area and thus open you and the group to move effective and rewarding communication. • Mike Cameron is an IQA member and the principal of Strategically Yours. Visit strategically.com.au

RISK MANAGEMENT

COMMENDABLE, PATIENT WAYS OF

APPROACHING WORKPLACE MISCONDUCT

T

he Fair Work Commission’s (FWC’s) recent decision in Hafsteins v Correct Installs Pty Ltd [2020] FWC 2729 has showcased a “patient” employer’s handling of an employee’s numerous workplace health and safety breaches.

The employee was employed at a racking and storage system installation business for two and a half years, initially as a labourer, then eventually as second in charge.

Work health and safety and conduct concerns were initially raised with the employee in June 2019 when the employer became aware he had committed several breaches, including: •C ausing damage to equipment and vehicles at the employer’s worksites.

•F ailure to complete safety documentation, including a log book to record truck usage and a statement about safety protocols.

•F ailure to conduct plant checks in accordance with the employer’s policy.

•D riving an electric scissor lift out of the warehouse while the cord was still plugged in, and then failing to notify anyone of the incident and leaving the damaged cord available for use.

•F ailure to properly hitch a trailer to a vehicle while driving it on a public road.

The employee accepted these allegations and was given a warning. He was also reminded to listen to simple instructions such as doing a “walk around” a trailer before driving a vehicle towing it, and told to review the notes from that meeting every morning to think about improving his safety performance.

By the end of June 2019, the employer commenced another disciplinary process with the employee which resulted in another warning about various instances of misconduct. These included: •B eing absent without authorisation or notice to the employer.

•A ttending work 30 minutes later than his rostered start time.

•S peaking negatively of his work colleagues to customers.

•C ausing offence to a customer’s employee which resulted in the customer refusing to work with him.

The employee did not dispute these matters.

In August 2019, the employer commenced

It often pays to unplug a scissor lift.

another disciplinary process which resulted in a final warning being issued to the employee after more instances of misconduct and safety breaches, including: •N ot commencing work until an hour after his rostered start time.

•F ailing to maintain proper communication with other employees while working in a scissor lift and failing to show due care and attention to company and client equipment by slamming things down.

•A cting disrespectfully towards the HR manager by hanging up on them before the discussion was concluded.

At this point, the employee was advised that further misconduct might result in the termination of his employment and that his performance would be reviewed again in September 2019.

The following month, the employer became aware that on a job in July 2019 the employee had allowed a power lead to be used across a high traffic forklift area which resulted in the customer having to block off the area.

When this matter was raised, the employee advised the employer the lead was rolled up.

The employee later conceded this was not true and said he was “on the defensive” because the test and tag period for his tools had expired and his tools were out of date.

The employee was subsequently dismissed for this incident and the previous warnings.

In the unfair dismissal proceedings before the FWC, the employee argued there was no valid reason for his dismissal. He argued that he was dismissed because of the incident in July 2019 and that this was unfair because other

workers also regularly had power leads running across walkways, workers had been notified of the work being completed in that area, and they had been advised to use an alternate doorway.

After considering the evidence, the FWC found the employer had a valid reason to dismiss the employee. It ruled the employer had appropriate WHS procedures in place and that the employee failed to follow them on numerous occasions, despite being repeatedly warned about his attitude towards workplace health and safety.

The FWC found that the employee was sufficiently trained in the procedures and, in any event, “some of [his] safety breaches were so fundamental he should not have required training to prevent them. The [employee’s] running a power cord across a doorway through which forklifts could travel, is a case in point”.

The FWC preferred the evidence of the employer and considered “the [employee] had a tendency to rationalise his behaviour by attempting to establish failures in the [employer]’s training or systems, when the [employee] was responsible for the many incidents about which he was warned”.

The FWC found the employer had good reason to dismiss the employee in June 2019, and it displayed great patience with the employee’s numerous and serious safety breaches and persisted with attempting to rectify his attitude. It went to great lengths to afford the employee procedural fairness by setting out the allegations about his conduct and giving him every opportunity to respond.

The FWC therefore dismissed the employee’s application.

This decision is a good example of how employers, particularly managers, should approach issues of workplace misconduct.

Rather than act with haste to dismiss an employee when an issue arises, employers should, at least, provide an employee with an opportunity to respond to concerns about their conduct in the workplace before engaging in disciplinary action. In this matter, the employee received multiple opportunities and still failed to improve to the standard required. • Source: Workplace Law

Quarry December 2020 43

SAFETY/RISK MANAGEMENT

WESTERN AUSTRALIA UPDATES SILICA WORKPLACE EXPOSURE STANDARDS

T

he Western Australian Government has followed the lead of Australia’s eastern states to deliver new workplace exposure standards for silica and coal dust.

Due to a number of deadly lung diseases that may be caused by silica exposure, the WA Government is aiming to reduce the risk by halving the exposure limit.

Like the eastern states, the workplace exposure standard (WES) for respirable crystalline silica (RCS) in WA has now been halved to a time-weighted eight-hour average (TWA) of 0.05 milligrams per cubic metre (mg/m3). Previously the WES in most Australian states and territories, in line with the harmonised Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011, was 1mg/m3.

Crystalline silica is found in materials such as sand, stone, concrete and mortar and is used to make products such as bricks and tiles.

The dust particles produced from working with these materials can cause damage to the lungs if inhaled, resulting in health complications such as silicosis.

RCS can be produced from mining, quarrying and mineral ore treatment processes, clay and stone processing machine operations, paving and surfacing, abrasive blasting and foundry casting, drilling, earthmoving and excavation operations, brick, concrete or stone cutting, and fabrication and installation of stone countertops.

“Silicosis is an emerging workplace health issue, and early intervention is the only solution to managing these risks,” WA’s Industrial Relations Minister Bill Johnston said.

“The changes in exposure standards are a win for workers who now have the right to extra preventative measures for silicosis.

[WA] WorkSafe’s inspection program has looked at more than 100 workplaces to ensure employers are aware of the risks from silica and their responsibilities under workplace safety laws.

“The McGowan Government takes prevention and early detection very seriously and is taking steps to minimise these risks.

Employers must ensure the new limits are not exceeded.”

Coal dust reductions will also prevent coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, better known as “black lung disease”.

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Safe Work Australia has published a checklist to assist employers to meet the new WES for RCS.

The IQA has also launched a free downloadable fact sheet on RCS that is available at the IQA website.

The revised WES for airborne contaminants to a TWA of 0.05mg/m3 was adopted by most jurisdictions on 1 July, 2020. Victoria was the earliest adopter, with the WES being revised on 17 December, 2019. Tasmania is yet to lower the WES from a TWA of 1mg/m3.

Work safety authorities in the ACT and Victoria recommend that while construction materials organisations should not exceed the TWA airborne concentration of 0.05mg/m3, they should be aiming to not expose workers to levels above 0.02mg/m3.

plan and speak with workers about how the reduced WES may affect the workplace.

The checklist can be found at the SWA website: safeworkaustralia.gov.au/doc/ workplace-checklist-changes-workplaceexposure-standard-silica-dust The IQA has launched its RCS resources in the past few months. They have included downloadable awareness fact sheets and webinars that are available free of charge at the IQA website – quarry.com.au The IQA has also conducted virtual in-depth workshops on RCS in recent months to educate the industry on product exposure, health and safety, and compliance with the new exposure standards. The workshops were conducted in September and October.

Pending state and territory COVID-19 restrictions, some face to face and virtual workshops will be conducted in 2021.

Like the IQA, the CCAA is offering similar resources, including its own guidelines, which were originally published in 2018 and updated earlier this year. The guidelines include a toolbox talk form for engaging workers. Visit ccaa.com.au •

SWA, IQA AND CCAA ADVICE Safe Work Australia (SWA), which developed the WES for RCS on behalf of the Commonwealth Government, has published a checklist and further information to assist employers meeting the updated standards.

New control measures could include local exhaust ventilation, on-tool dust extraction, respiratory protective equipment or wet cutting methods.

SWA recommends employers assess the risk of silica dust at the workplace, review control measures to minimise the risk of silica dust, arrange air monitoring to measure silica dust levels, review their workers’ health monitoring

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IS BUILDING FOR THE NEXT 1000 YEARS AN INCONCEIVABLE IDEA? Take a look at the ancient world and you can see things were built for permanence and legacy – as opposed to transience today. John McNeil explains why so many modern organisations and building structures are short-lived.

O

nly its nose sticks out where it lies blanketed in thick, white snow: the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway.

Carved into the virgin solid rock of a permafrost mountain, it is said to be the most important room in the world. Containing a complete “back-up” of earth’s food crop seed at the time of its inauguration in 2008, this beautiful bunker was designed to last a thousand years and withstand nuclear bombs, global warming and projectile weapons.

The entrance is marked by a gemlike installation made from stainless steel and mirrors that reflect the midnight sun in the summer months and fibre-optic lights during the polar night. Aptly named “Perpetual Repercussion”, it is a visual representation of the jewels within.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is unusual.

We don’t often think about how our designs, businesses and purpose will impact our descendants a thousand years from now.

Thousands of years are for myths, legends and mysterious things like the pyramids.

Buildings now are much more likely to be demolished with new structures built in their place. The average lifespan of a US Standard & Poor (S&P) 500 company has fallen by 80 per cent (from 67 to 15 years) in the past 80 years1, and “start-up” has entered our vernacular for a reason. So, why do we think short-term when we are building structures and companies, and is there value in taking a longer-term view? Did the CEOs of the S&P 500 companies that no longer exist plan it to happen or did they embark, unintentionally, on a course of short-term thinking that resulted in their demise? What can boards and CEOs learn from building structures which have lasted 1000 years, and how can they take this same kind of thinking into their planning for permanence but built with adaptability?

WHY, AND FOR WHOM, WE BUILD HAS CHANGED You can see how we got into the habit of 46

Quarry December 2020

What will life – and the construction materials industry – be like in 3020?

building structures with a faster use-by date.

Previously, buildings were built for greater longevity with some bridges and churches across Europe that are still in service dating back 500 years. The historic structures built by empires and religious organisations were likely a result of long-term thinking.

That trend dissipated with the rise of consumerism which has manifested across built and commercial environments.

Landmarks are continuously razed for newer and shinier designs, with the average design life for a bridge or building now 100 years if you’re lucky (300 years in very forwardthinking cases such as Brisbane’s Gateway Bridge).

Today, similar trends have penetrated the building of corporations. The significant upheaval of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (aka Industry 4.0) has wreaked havoc across

industries and exposed the vulnerability in many an organisation’s business plan.

Governments too are thinking in short-term election cycles. Indeed, many countries are less than 50 years old and 76 per cent of UK FTSE 100 companies have disappeared2 in the past 30 years.

THINKING OF TOMORROW Trying to predict and anticipate what society will need or want years from now is challenging but not impossible – it’s just hard.

Research into the success of organisations that have thrived for more than 100 years – known as centennials – found consistent lessons across all the organisations. All centennial organisations studied were incredibly strategic, looking 20 to 30 years ahead to understand how society is evolving, how they can shape it and how they can

get the talent to do it. One of the biggest challenges, when companies adopt a fiveyear horizon and strategy plan, is their focus remains too narrow and neglects to take in the bigger picture.

One might ask why a team of engineers would build a clock in the Texan desert3 with a design life of 10,000 years? Because it’s about changing the way people think.

It is about getting them to consider future generations. Caring for the present while being a custodian of the future and becoming better ancestors. Perhaps we won’t be building 4500-year-old monuments like the great pyramids but we also can’t solely focus on the next 10 years and turn a blind eye to collateral damage.

Even impressive skyscrapers are on average built to last a mere 50 years. But some examples boldly operate in completely different time frames. The Sagrada Familia4 basilica in Spain has been in construction for more than 100 years, much longer than most infrastructure will last. On the subject of the extremely long construction period, the original architect Antoni Gaudí (18521926) simply remarked: “My client is not in a hurry.”

The Maitreya Buddha project in India is setting out to construct the world’s highest Buddha statue designed to last a thousand years. And Japanese tech giant SoftBank Group has a 300-year business plan to take AI far into the future.5

TIRELESS TWEAKS It’s no surprise that agility, innovation and responsiveness have become the holy grail of businesses in recent times. And who can blame them, given the fast-paced environment we operate in?

But does newer constitute better? Are we sacrificing quality in the pursuit of speed?

In the past, permanence was the ideal.

Nowadays, the economics of permanence are being replaced by the economics of transience, and advancing technology makes it cheaper to replace and adapt than to repair.

For successful centennial organisations, both success and growth at the same time makes them nervous. A recent study of all centennial organisations in the world found that 89 per cent employed fewer than 300 people and they deliberately stay small to ensure that standards don’t slip.

Success also generates obsessing over details and analysing anything that might affect performance. As shared by the Royal

The gem-like entrance to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway. Photo courtesy of Subiet, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

Shakespeare Company: “We get nervous if more than 20 per cent of our new ideas succeed – it means they’re not really new!”

And NASA spent two years debriefing a mission to understand what really happened.

While technology continues to advance, resulting in greater improvements at ever shorter intervals, the answer lies in creating buildings, and companies, capable of multiple refits to extend their operational life, but also retain their culture and preserve their original purpose.

A REALISTIC PROSPECT Yet, how do we even begin to imagine the year 3020 (especially with how 2020 is turning out so far), let alone design for it? How possible would it have been 1000 years ago to predict the disruption that COVID-19 would cause, or traffic congestion when cars didn’t even exist?

The truth is nobody can accurately predict what will happen thousands of years from now, but what we can be certain of is that if we want our building structure, or our business, to last for 1000 years then it better be designed to face adversity by adapting, flexing and refitting. The design life of projects lies not only in the technical design aspects but also in their meaning and purpose for the community. The same applies for a business.

Seeds are the promise of a future, rooted in the past, safely cocooned in the present.

Will today’s ideas bear fruit in the next generations? Even if we don’t live in a world of permanence, we should plan our buildings and corporations with the mindset that everything we do can have perpetual repercussions echoing throughout all generations.

Besides, what CEO or structural engineer doesn’t like the idea of building a masterpiece that future generations will gaze at in wonder and ask: “How did they do that?” • John McNeil is a technical director at Aurecon, based in Docklands, Melbourne. He has more than 25 years’ expertise in bridge engineering.

REFERENCES & FURTHER READING 1,2 Hill A, Mellon L, Goddard J. How winning organisations last 100 years. Harvard Business

Review, 27 September, 2018. hbr.org/2018/09/howwinning-organizations-last-100-years 3 Rose A. How to build something that lasts 10,000 years. BBC News, 11 June, 2019. bbc.com/future/ article/20190611-how-to-build-something-that-lasts10000-years 4 Zakharia N. British stone to finish development of Barcelona basilica after 137 years. Quarry, 28 February, 2020. quarrymagazine.com/2020/02/28/ british-stone-to-finish-development-of-barcelonabasilica-after-137-years/ 5 Sugimoto T. Masoyoshi Son’s 300-year plan.

Nikkei Asia, 31 August, 2017. asia.nikkei.com/ Business/Masayoshi-Son-s-300-year-plan

Quarry December 2020 47

SPECIAL REPORT

KOMATSU MD PRESENTS SAY AGAIN? CAMPAIGN TO IQ BRANCHES

K

omatsu Australia CEO and managing director Sean Taylor has presented a webinar about his company’s Say Again? campaign to a global network of Institute of Quarrying branches.

The Say Again? campaign encourages workplace inclusion and diversity, and aims to raise conscious awareness of the language and ideas that could affect team building.

Sean Taylor received the prestigious 2020 IQ Caernarfon Award earlier this year for the campaign, and presented a webinar to Institute of Quarrying branches across the globe on 9 November.

“Inclusion and diversity has always been important but I would suggest today it’s more critical than ever,” Taylor said at the Say Again? webinar.

“There are many dimensions [to inclusion and diversity] and each of those dimensions require proactive actions in their own right.”

Taylor advocated the need for more female representation in industrial companies to achieve greater gender diversity.

“The impact will simply be huge,” he said. “Some of the qualities women can bring to the table will help us have a better conversation on the other dimensions and broader topics of inclusion and diversity.”

According to Taylor, gender diversity has not progressed but organisations like Male Champions of Change Australia are encouraging company leaders to discuss men’s roles regarding gender equality in industrial workforces.

“Leaders must see the change is important and drive that change,” Taylor said. “It’s the most critical point of my presentation.

Unfortunately it hasn’t progressed – indeed, we’ve gone a little bit backwards if anything.

“Male Champions of Change in Australia … works with influential leaders to redefine men’s roles in acting on gender equality. So, it activates peer groups of male leaders and supports them to step up beside women and drive the adoption of actions across the private sector and government.”

Taylor encouraged workplaces to innovate to solve people-related issues rather than just technology ones.

“We’ve got a great opportunity to influence the entire construction value chain and that’s 48

Quarry December 2020

Sean Taylor presented on ABS stats on the make-up of the Australian labour force in 2018. In the resources sector, the percentage of female employees has improved since 1998, but not so in the transport sector.

really exciting. It recognises the fact that if we keep approaching this issue in the same way we will continue to have no impact,” he said.

PUSHING INNOVATION Building an innovative culture can also lead to improvements surrounding workplace diversity, Taylor said.

“Diversity is a key platform, a key tool to build an innovative culture,” he said.

Taylor believes that factoring in diversity will improve a workplace’s innovation, allowing women to take on traditionally maledominated roles.

“Fairness, frankly, should be enough but it hasn’t been so an innovative culture directly drives business results and even survival.

“For those not treated fairly it isn’t fun at all,” Taylor added. “It can be very toxic.”

According to Taylor, the construction and mining sectors have the least amount of female participation in Australian industries.

“We’re not moving forward, indeed we’re standing still,” he said. “We just need to understand that a culture of diversity and inclusion is actually as important as improving things like productivity or even the bottom line or even safety.”

Taylor encouraged industrial workplaces to bend the status quo by targeting 30 to 50 per cent female employment, while also acknowledging that the “old guard” of companies faces fast-approaching competition through technological and productivity innovation.

“We have to promote our businesses in a better way. It’s equally important for not just attracting good young women these days but young men as well,” “I think our construction industry is exciting and cool but we haven’t done a good job in convincing the next generation and this time around there’s a lot more competition.

“I hear a lot that ‘women have to be able to adapt to the male workshop culture’. I just cannot accept that. The same men in the workshop manage just fine in every other part of their lives where they interact with 50 per cent of the population.”

Taylor reflected on how women in the workplace have been forced to build “an armour” for unconscious passing comments.

“Everyday sexism is a real pervasive threat to a diverse and inclusive culture,” he said.

“Most of the time men are not aware that they have said something hurtful or maybe disrespectful, while at the other end of the spectrum comments may well be designed to be hurtful or put somebody down and the actions when that happen are quite different obviously and have to be treated harshly.

“Say Again? is a campaign to not let comments potentially slip through unchallenged. In the case of everyday sexism, we particularly want men to call out their own comments or other men’s comments so women don’t have to.

Let’s step up.” •

By Nickolas Zakharia

IQA NEWS

The Institute of Quarrying Australia

TIME FOR SELF-REFLECTION, SUPPORT AFTER A CHALLENGING YEAR Without wanting to sound clichéd, I can’t believe it’s the holiday season. And another cliché’ – it’s been a year like no other. But as we enter this holiday season, it truly is a time to reflect as an industry and as individuals on the volume of change, what this change has meant, and what it means for the future.

The rapid and constant changes in the past 12 months have had an impact on our working lives and the way we structure our businesses and teams. As a whole the extractive industry has performed extremely well and demonstrated its ability to operate as an essential service. The industry responded to the direction and requirements for COVID Safe Plans and the protocols to keep workers, suppliers and the community safe. In doing this the industry is in a strong position to support economic recovery in the years to come.

With countries still experiencing high cases of community transmission, and clustered outbreaks in Australia, the pandemic is far from over. The mental health impacts of the pandemic are starting to be reported, with estimates of between 25 and 33 per cent of the community experiencing some form of

INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY In collaboration with the Institute of Quarrying UK, the IQA proudly presented the first global webinar featuring the 2020 Caernarfon Award winner Sean Taylor, Komatsu Australia’s CEO and managing director (see opposite page). Sean presented his award winning presentation – Let’s talk about diversity and inclusion – to about 100 people globally.

“As an industry we have promoted the benefits of a diverse workforce for years. IQA members will learn from Sean’s presentation what organisations can achieve when there is co-ordinated commitment from within to bring about real change,” said Shane Braddy, IQA President and Boral’s national quarries general manager for resources and development.

Sean’s presentation highlighted how Komatsu’s Say Again? campaign encourages

mental health issues during the pandemic. This means we will likely see increased need for support and services in the coming months.

The holiday period for many people can be a particularly stressful time of the year.

Following our experiences of 2020, this holiday season we need to look after ourselves and each other. I encourage everyone to take the time to ensure resources such as Beyond Blue, RUOK?, Lifeline and the Black Dog Institute are shared with teams. Check in with people and take a little extra time to reflect on how you feel and any support you may need.

As I look back on 2020, I reflect on the IQA’s challenges. We adjusted to lockdowns and restrictions on events, supported industry with guidance on COVID-19 safe practices and adjusted the delivery of education.

In managing every change, the support from industry has been truly amazing. The IQA has always valued its partnerships and the support of its members and sponsors. In the last few months, the IQA has valued more than ever its workforce to be conscious of language and ideas that may undermine diverse team building.

Current research shows that a pragmatic approach to diversity and inclusion in the workplace can lead to stronger resilience and performance – something the IQA sees as particularly important in the COVID-19 pandemic.

A recording of the webinar is available on the IQA’s website: quarry.com.au

SA BREAKFAST AND AGM The South Australian branch held a successful breakfast seminar, including the 2020 annual general meeting, on 29 October, 2020. This event was the first for the branch since the COVID-19 restrictions came into effect and was attended by more than 60 people,

this support for the branches, events and education.

To all the branch and sub-branch committees, thank you for your dedication to managing in such a tough year. To my administrative team, you have all done a wonderful job juggling ever-changing priorities.

I wish you all a very safe and happy holiday season. May you be able to spend time with family and friends and stay connected to those we may not be able to visit directly.

KYLIE FAHEY Chief Executive Officer Institute of Quarrying Australia including five new members.

James Rowe (Groundwork Plus) and Luke Brammy (SafeWork SA) provided an update on the new Work, Health & Safety (Mine Manager) Variation Regulations 2020. Attendees took the opportunity to seek clarification on the proposed changes and how they will impact the industry. James also presented on behalf of Paul Thompson (SA Department of Energy & Mining) on the Draft Mining Regulations.

Re-elected branch chairman Andrew Wilson welcomed a number of new members. Jarrod Leech (Hanson) was proudly recognised as a new Fellow. Jarrod joined the IQA in January 2008 and is the quarry manager at Golden Grove.

WA AGM AND DINNER EVENT On 16 October, the WA branch came together Quarry December 2020 49

IQA NEWS to host its annual general meeting and dinner event. Held at Beaumonde on the Point, one of Perth’s newest waterfront function venues on the Swan River, the event was attended by more than 50 IQA members and non-members.

The AGM was opened by the WA branch chairman Phillip Harris and he welcomed the members and guests to the first postCOVID-19 restrictions event for the WA branch. The formalities included the election of the new committee.

On conclusion of the AGM, guests enjoyed a two-course meal and danced the night away as they were entertained by Hot Suga, an experienced and energetic trio, playing hits for young and old alike.

QUEENSLAND WIQ ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2020 The Queensland branch successfully delivered the Women in Quarrying (WIQ) annual conference on 19 November. The conference attracted a capacity crowd of more than 80 attendees in line with the

The Institute of Quarrying Australia

COVID-19 requirements of the venue, The Glen Hotel at Eight Mile Plains. Highlights included a diverse range of speakers sharing the latest research and practical counsel on harnessing and optimising talent, capacity, innovation and new thinking in the extractive and associated industries.

events to what can be undertaken when following COVID-19 guidelines.

The IQA is grateful to the WIQ’s major sponsor Leverlink, together with event sponsors Boral, Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia (CCAA), Groundwork Plus, Hy-Tec, 888 Crushing & Screening Equipment, Minprovise, Holcim and CPR Group. After such a successful event, the branch has already started planning the fifth annual Queensland WIQ conference for September 2021.

The contact details of branch and subbranch committees, WIQ co-ordinators and Young Members Network co-ordinators can be found on the IQA website.

BRANCH AND SUB-BRANCH COMMITTEES 2020-21 All IQA branch and sub-branch committees have finalised their committees and office bearers for 2020-21. The committees will drive the agenda for local events, networking and training. Each branch is in the process of confirming its activities for 2021 and aligning

Branches have done a wonderful job adjusting, and while it is a challenging time, it is opening up innovative ways of connecting.

Branch events will be finalised in the new year and listed on the IQA website.

2021 EDUCATION The IQA is currently scheduling a number of education events for 2021. These include the following virtual workshops: • Respirable crystalline silica (RCS) - 17 February, 2021.

• Introduction to quarrying - 23 February, 2021.

• Slope stability - 16 March, 2021.

• Learning from disasters - 4 May, 2021.

Slope stability - 16 March, 2021.

• RCS - 12 May, 2021.

• Slope stability - 8 June, 2021.

For more information, contact the IQA secretariat (see page 6) or visit quarry.com.au

IQA NEW MEMBERS GRADE NAME Member Member Associate Member Member

Tim Mackellar Mark Morris Sue Neale Susan Lewis Alastair Delooze

BRANCH NSW NSW SA SA VIC

IQA BRANCH CONTACTS Re-elected SA branch chairman Andrew Wilson (far right), presented certificates to (l-r) Angie Garzon (Hanson), Mollie Pearson (Groundwork Plus), Matt Anderson (McMahon Services Australia), Jarrod Leech (Hanson), Susan Lewis (Boral) and Luke Brammy (SafeWork SA).

ACT

IQA Admin: 0419 558 595

NSW

IQA Admin: 0419 558 595

Northern

IQA Admin: 0419 558 595

Hunter

IQA Admin: 0419 558 595

Illawarra

IQA Admin: 0419 558 595

Central West

IQA Admin: 0419 558 595

NT

Lisa Stromborg: 0403 291 996

QLD

Lisa Stromborg: 0403 291 996

North QLD

Lisa Stromborg: 0403 291 996

Cairns

Lisa Stromborg: 0403 291 996

SA

Marie Cunningham: 08 8243 2505

Tasmania

Lisa Stromborg: 0403 291 996

Victoria

IQA Admin: 0419 558 595

Vic Sub-branch Sean Taylor: “Say Again? is a campaign to not let comments potentially slip through unchallenged.”

50

Quarry December 2020

WA

IQA Admin: 0419 558 595

Catherine Kelly: 0403 940 870

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