Founding Document
It’s the AQA’s 50th birthday in 2019 This is the founding document and the first annual report of the original quarry association, known as the Aggregates Association of New Zealand, for the year ended June 30, 1971. The Aggregates...
Engineering the tail end of tailings
Adam Holland, head of Business Development for Mining, CDE, Ireland talks about his experience finding a foolproof solution for safe mining tailings dams. I HAVE BEEN TRAVELLING around the world for a year, visiting mining sites in Latin America, Australia, Africa and Ireland to discover what makes each of them tick and find the most efficient...
Conservation, efficiency and a new dump truck
Isaac Quarry has a well-earned and award-winning reputation for its pursuit of environmental excellence and the protection of endangered species. SINCE IT’S SIMPLE beginning in 1957 the conservation land has expanded to cover some 1100 hectares, including the quarry operation, salmon farm and general grazing and farmland. This conservation...
When the rivers run over
The year 2010 was recognised as one of the worst on record for natural disasters across the globe, not least for flooding in Australia. Jim Hankins, managing director of Rivergum Industries and chairman of the Sydney sub-branch of the IQA, looks at a plucky Aussie sand producer that braved the impact of a flood disaster and rebounded back to...
In the safety seat
There’s been steady progress on site safety, but there’s a heap more to do, according to WorkSafe’s new Chief Inspector Extractives. HUGH DE LACY explains. LIKE THE TWO people who preceded him at WorkSafe’s High Hazards Unit (HHU), Paul Hunt feels he has his work cut out for him to accelerate the uptake and embedding of the post-Pike...
A veteran’s wise words
Veteran George Cunningham has been involved in the quarrying industry for as long as it takes to earn a retirement pension. HUGH DE LACY caught up with him recently. A QUARRY IS LIKE a huge ship out on the ocean where changes in direction can take miles to effect, and accordingly have to be planned way in advance. FROM OUR ARCHIVES George...
A sister act
Gemma and Megan Leeson are not what you expect from your average quarry worker. They’re young, related and they’re female. MARY SEARLE BELL explains. While it is fair to say our extraction industry is male-dominated and challenged with an ageing workforce, the Leeson sisters are two of four apprentices in the Stevenson Construction Materials...
