ASSOCIATIONS- ASPASA
ASPASA
Aspasa is an industry association that represents southern Africa’ s quarrying and surface mining industry. Originally started by the country’ s aggregate and sand producers in 1990 for self-regulating and representing the interests of their own industry, Aspasa has elevated the quarrying industry and attracts an increasing number of non-aggregate-and sand-producing companies.
Aspasa
Aspasa office manager Mary-Ann Sutton.
Aspasa
Nico Pienaar, director of surface mining industry body, Aspasa.
China International Aggregates Conference
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SBM
In December 2017, Aspasa director Nico Pienaar attended the fourth China International Aggregate Conference in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, along with more than 700 delegates from China, the UK, Spain, Singapore, India and countries along the Belt and Road initiative. The themes of the conference were‘ Green, Intelligent Manufacturing,
Integration, Sharing’ and attendees discussed the country’ s national gravel industry green development plan.
Hu Youyi, chairman of the China Aggregates Association, spoke about Aggregates 4.0, as well as the Chinese aggregates industry’ s achievements in terms of green development. Also covered were modern,
China News
1 & 2: On 9 December 2017 the fourth China International Aggregates Conference was held in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province.
eco-friendly aggregates companies, recycling of solid waste, rehabilitation of abandoned quarries and Chinese aggregates machine manufacturers, among others.
Pienaar delivered a presentation on surface mining in South Africa, sharing the experience and achievements of the industry in general, Aspasa and its members.
Satellite operations
Starting in 2018, the annual Environmental Audit Aspasa carries out at its member operations will include satellite operations such as asphalt plants. This is because these operations have been identified as potentially affecting the mining operations under a variety of legislation, including: the
National Environmental Management Act( NEMA), the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act( NEM: AQA), the National Water Act( NWA), the National Environmental Management: Waste Act( NEM: WA), and the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act( MPRDA).
The auditors have identified significant risks to Aspasa member operations hosting these satellite operations including: suspension or cancellation of a mining licence( S47 and S93 of the MPRDA); penalties in terms of possible clean-up costs( S19 of the NWA; S28 of NEMA; various Sections of the NEM: WA and NEM: AQA and so on); penalties for the‘ land owner; person in control of the land; directly responsible; indirectly responsible or negligent’ as defined in both the NWA and NEMA where environmental pollution / degradation may have occurred on the mining land as a result of an unlicensed – or even a licensed – activity.
36 _ QUARRY SA | MARCH / APRIL 2018