SA NEWS
“The issue of
rehabilitation was
an issue that had
become a major
focal point of the
quarry industry
and was equally
relevant to the
rest of the mining
industry.”
Nico Pienaar, director of Aspasa.
Then came Aspasa
Before Aspasa there was
the Aggregate Producers
Federation, which was
formed in 1970. “Prior to this
there were various regional
associations in the then
provinces of Transvaal, Natal,
and the Western Cape (Cape
Province). The industry was
fairly fragmented, with a large
number of quarries under
private ownership. The advent
of price control on quarry
products, rapid inflation,
together with the formation
of joint marketing companies
in the main urban areas,
brought about a precipitous
rationalisation process within
the aggregate industry.
“In those days there were
some issues similar to those
we experience today: Those
companies quarrying for
cement production had price
control, which was imposed
on the quarry industry in
December 1964 and was only
lifted in March 1981.
www.quarryonline.co.za
“The issue of rehabilitation
was an issue that had become a
major focal point of the quarry
industry and was equally
relevant to the rest of the
mining industry. The pressure
came from the Department
of Physical Planning and the
Environmental Department,
as they started to follow the
trend in other parts of the
world to look after maintenance
of the ecology of the country.
Responsible quarrymen
throughout South Africa
welcomed the bringing of
some order to this aspect of the
business,” says Pienaar.
Aspasa was formed in 1990
to take over and expand the
functions performed by the
then Employers Federation,
though Aspasa did not become
the registered employer body.
“In 1996, a council was formed
– the Quarrying and Allied
Council of South Africa — but
this body was stillborn and did
not continue. In the early days,
Aspasa concentrated on matters
which had direct importance
on the quarry industry. As
Aspasa was also involved
in mining issues, it became
more exposed to other sectors
of the mining industry and
consequently became a member
of the Chamber of Mines of
South Africa (today known
as the Minerals Council).
This joining of the Chamber
resulted in the Chamber not
only representing large mining
groups, mostly underground
mining, but to be able to show
that smaller opencast mines are
also represented.”
In 1993, the Minister of
Minerals and Energy Affairs
accepted the invitation to
become patron of the About
Face South Africa initiative that
Aspasa had formed. Pienaar
says that Aspasa “was also
delighted to be a part of the
formation and publication
of this magazine, Quarry
Southern Africa”.
Sarma comes along
In November 1996, Aspasa
was also the fundamental
driver and player in the
formation of the then new
body Sarma (South African
Ready-Mix Association).
The administration was to be
carried out by Aspasa. “Sarma
was launched at the time of the
International FIP Conference
[an international structural
concrete federation] in March
1997. Sarma co-sponsored a
lunch at the conference on
12 March 1997, which was
done to get the buy-in of an
international audience of
concrete experts.” A particular
accolade was the joint winning
by Aspasa and IOQ of the Best
Trade Stand Award at Minecon.
“At the Minecon Africa ’97,
Aspasa and the IOQ teamed up
and together put on a stand in
the Trade Pavilion. A model of
a screening plant was erected
by Doug Rowland from the
Stone and Allied Industries in
the Free State. As a result of the
hard work and attractiveness
of the working model, the
stand won the Best Trade Stand
Award,” says Pienaar.
QUARRY SA | MAY/JUNE 2019_5