January - February 2014
MODERN QUARRYING
31
FACE TO FACEWITH
ASPASA
suppliers that are accredited members of
Aspasa, in an attempt to snuff-out these
illegal mining practitioners.
“The problem is that illegal miners set
up an operation anywhere they want to,
and pay little heed to the environment, or
to the health and safety of workers. They
do not pay tax, royalties, and skills devel-
opment levies; nor do they set aside mon-
ies for the eventual rehabilitation of the
land,” he says. “Such operations are set up
on the cheap and in a year or two, once
the easy-to-reach minerals have been
removed, the operator moves on, leaving
the workers and the community to pick
up the pieces.
“The entry of such an operator into an
established market can easily cause quar-
ries to shut down as a result of drastic
price cutting,” he warns.
The only effective way of dealing
with this problem is for legal operators to
stand together and speak with a unified
voice. Joining Aspasa brings formality to
the industry and creates further oppor-
tunities to educate users and put pres-
sure on enforcers to shut down illegal
operations.
“We are constantly engaging with
professional bodies that represent engi-
neering, architectural and contracting
companies and as a result, it is becoming
increasingly difficult to sell sand and stone
unless you can prove that you are mining
it legally, ethically and sustainably. These
bodies recognise that the only sure-fire
way of knowing that they are dealing with
an ethical supplier, is to assist on dealing
only with Aspasa members
“Buyers are also being made aware
that Aspasa accreditation means that
members have met (and fulfilled) all
these requirements and are obliged to
uphold the Association’s strict standards
and codes of practice. As an association,
we have set the groundwork to make it
extremely difficult for illegal suppliers to
operate. All we need now is for the rest
of the industry to join hands and become
active members of Aspasa. With a unified
voice, we will easily eradicate the scourge
of illegal mining and be able to address
many of the other issues that affect our
industry,” he adds.
Moving on to borrow pits, Pienaar
says legislation it tightening up on road
crews who excavate sand and stone for
construction projects.
There have been raging debates for
and against the use of borrow pits with
road construction companies, who claim
they need to extract sand and stone close
to the road construction project, in order
to limit costs. The quarrying industry on
the other hand, suggests that borrow pits
adversely affect their livelihoods by sup-
plying material at a far lower cost than
formal quarries, who have to comply with
onerous mining, environmental, health
and safety legislation.
The debate has been brought to the
attention of the Department of Mineral
Resources (DMR), which has started
enforcing stricter controls to regulate the
practice and to find workable solutions.
In support of these efforts, Aspasa
This is part of a very prominent sand operation in Vredenburg, Western Cape. The sand is being mined on a farm alongside the road.
The problem is that illegal miners set up an operation any-
where they want to, and pay little heed to the environment,
or to the health and safety of workers. They do not pay tax,
royalties, and skills development levies; nor do they set aside
monies for the eventual rehabilitation of the land.
