Welcome to the official website of the Aggregate and Quarry Association of New Zealand. It is specifically for people who would like to find out more about quarrying and the role it has to play in our society. The quarrying industry provides essential materials to meet the demands of New Zealand’s growth and infrastructure. We hope the information in this site outlines the importance of what we do, and in particular the high priority we place on environmental issues within the industry.
NEWS
Aggregate - an essential ingredient for infrastructure
The Aggregate and Quarry Association of New Zealand welcomes the Government’s recent National Infrastructure Plan 2011, which says that the government realises that infrastructure forms the backbone of all New Zealand communities, and that every individual New Zealander needs a greater level of confidence about infrastructure provision, costs and service levels.
“The industry is chomping at the bit to discuss future aggregate needs with those making infrastructure plans for the coming 20 years,” said AQA President Mike Lord. “Looking through the publication was like looking through an advertising manual for aggregates – every picture showed where New Zealand’s high demand for aggregate goes to – roads, buildings, underground works, dams – you name it – you are surrounded by it.”
There is a lot of ignorance about quarries and what they deliver, and how the natural product, aggregate, is used. It has been said that if it’s not animal or vegetable, then is it probably made from aggregate – the rock that quarries blast and crush to required size – right down to sand. And it is a component in almost everything man assembles.
“The aggregate industry is keen to provide the most cost effective and environmentally supportive product. But potential aggregate sources are becoming inaccessible as cities grow. That means having to truck the raw material to the project site – at a cost to the contractor (often rate payers), a cost to the road surface, and a cost to the environment through fuel use and emissions,” said Lord.
Implementation of the National Infrastructure Plan will demand massive quantities of aggregate. Its requirements will form the framework for the AQA’s own strategic plan to ensure those future supplies will be available.
The plan says that the government will develop a coordinate communications program with key stakeholders and partners in each sector to allow regular and meaningful communication on infrastructure issues, including identifying and collating information on regulatory barriers.
“This is music to our ears,” said Lord. “A national aggregate strategy for future aggregate sources is essential to the growth and economy of New Zealand going forward.”
Environment the winner at Perry Resources
Winner of the MIMICO Environmental Award 2011 is Perry Resources Waingaro Quarry, Ngaruawahia.
Presenting the award was environment professional Dr Morgan Williams, a former Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment and currently an Adjunct Professor at the Universities of Canterbury and Queensland. He commented “this quarry extension project has created habitats for many plants and animals, including the rare native fish the Giant Kokopu, that are much better than those that prevailed on the land and in the streams prior to development.”
The Environmental Award encourages Aggregate and Quarry Association (AQA) member companies and their staff of to establish and implement programmes of environmental importance to their operations and to the wider industry.
Dr Williams said of the Perry Resources project that the local community had been participants in many stages of the development and visited the quarry and restoration area. This included a very innovative fish passage, restored wetlands, a 35 m high bund planted with eco-soured trees, car-park and re-routed section of a rail trail that links to a major walkway through the forest above the quarry.
The development was a $1.5 million investment for the company. A significant proportion of this was on the ecological restoration component, which went well beyond what was essential for compliance.
“The Perry Resources management and operational team clearly considered such investment part of their commitment to environmental sustainability and being a member of a community that values the ecological and visual amenities of the area.”
The AQA and MIMICO, suppliers of heavy machinery, are committed to encouraging environmental excellence. For several years now, MIMICO have sponsored the presentation of the Industry's Environmental $5,000 education award to be used for ongoing environmental initiatives.
The award highlights the tremendous environmental efforts being made by the industry.
KiwiRail’s new ballast specification
Most companies in the industry are aware that KiwiRail have been working on new specifications and the AQA technical committee gave feedback to them on some of the issues for our industry in terms of being able to meet the new requirements in a cost effective manner.
‘Specification for the Supply of Crushed and Screened Stone Ballast – Track Specification No 140’ is the most recent version which came into effect on 14 February 2011 and has been requested by KiwiRail in the recent Northern Ballast tender.
This is the first tender to refer to the new specification and therefore would appear to be the first “live” test before it is adopted on a national basis as contracts come up for tender.
The key changes that you will find with the new specification are:
- Los Angeles Abrasion has reduced from 25% to 20%.
- Particle size distribution has been made coarser than has been previously specified.
- Particle density is now a requirement.
- Cleanness value has been increased from a minimum of 60 to 80.
- Alluvial sources require >75% of particles to have two significant broken faces when tested to NZS4407 Test 3.14.
- Testing rates for production properties have changed from once every 2000m3 to once per 1000m3. Source property testing has changed from once per 10,000m3 to once per 2000m3.
Of these the most significant are the coarser grading, which will have an effect on product yields, and the cleanness, which is a significant step up from the existing minimum of 60 and is sure to be a challenge for a lot of producers to achieve consistently.
AQA, in discussions with KiwiRail, challenged them on why such a dramatic change in grading and cleanness. However, when discussing the need for change, it became apparent that their main concern was with cleanness and excess fines in the ballast product. This can present them with serious issues as the excess fines and low cleanness can result in breakage of electrical circuit between the tracks and the train. This leads to problems for KiwiRail of identifying exactly where the train is on the track.
Due to this risk, excess fines in the fresh ballast also means that the life expectancy of that ballast product is dramatically reduced. Thus KiwiRail were determined that the new specification would ensure the chance of this occurring was minimised and the easiest way to achieve that objective was to make the ballast coarser and cleaner and test it more often! This solves a lot of their issues and provides KiwiRail with a much more cost effective product solution due to a longer ballast life and less track maintenance.
You can find the full specification on the Technical section of this website
Any queries of a technical nature should be referred to KiwiRail Engineering on 04 495 3000.
Department of Labour Quarry Inspector Assessment Tools
The Department of Labour has kindly made available the assessment tools used by the Inspectors when visiting quarries This has been done so that members can self evaluate and hopefully achieve a zero injury industry.
The Department welcomes any suggestions from the industry which can be incorporated into the existing assessment tool.
It is important to note that these assessment tools do not replace any legal obligations on employers (or employees), for example, to comply with statutory duties under relevant legislation.
PSV database
If your contract documents specify a minimum PSV requirement then you now have the ideal service with our new Polished Stone Value Database.
The PSV gives a measure of the resistance of an aggregate to the polishing action of a pneumatic tyre under conditions similar to those occurring on the surface of a road.
AQA members have contributed to the data to ensure that those responsible for material selection understood exactly what aggregate is available, providing the corresponding PSV, weathering and crushing resistance data for that aggregate .
The unique resource was developed with input from NZTA and also has the full support of Roading New Zealand. The database is the most current and extensive source of PSV information in NZ and the data will be updated on a monthly basis.
To ensure continual effectiveness of the resource we would appreciate any comments you may have – just contact AQA Executive Director Roger Parton on roger@aqa.org.nz.
Membership
To become a member please complete the Application for Membership form or contact us for further information and a membership pack.
Conference
For details on the annual QuarryNZ Conference, click here.
Awards
For the MIMICO Environmental Excellence Award 2012 Entry Form, click here.