Pitfalls plague quarry industry

“Without a viable quarrying industry, Trinidad and Tobago cannot develop further; there will be no First World status by 2020” according to Ramdeo (Dan) Persad, President of the Quarry Association of Trinidad and Tobago, at the recent installation of the Association’s executive. In an address that pulled no punches, Mr. Persad outlined a litany of the problems that face the industry and restrict its development.

Included in his list of woes were the importation of aggregate that could be produced locally, the escalation of illegal quarrying on state lands; the non-release of state lands for quarrying purposes; and the lack of implementation of the Minerals Act 2000, with particular reference to the appointment of a Director of Minerals. In an equally hard hitting response, Dr. Keith Rowley, the featured speaker at the installation pointed out that “if an importer can ship crushed rock from Canada, pay the 40 percent duty and still sell the commodity on the local market, it meant that local quarries were not competitive.” This comment has to be taken in the context that for international producers, transportation costs are frequently higher than the cost of the actual product.

Should an industry as mature as the quarry industry be in trouble? After all, it is not high tech and Trinidadians are intelligent enough to have mastered it by now. The Centre for Development of Industry commissioned an assessment of the local industry to determine whether there are sufficient resources locally to meet projected needs, and also to determine any technical constraints on meeting those needs.

With respect to the first objective, it was suggested that the industry needs to be capable of meeting a typical annual demand of three million tons, but with the capacity to meet peak demands of four million tons. The data appeared to indicate quite clearly that there should be adequate physical resources for this, taking into account all the quarries that can be brought into production, and all the processing plant available. Despite this, there have been times when the demand has outstripped supply and serious limitations have occurred both in quantity and in quality. This has led to predatory pricing for local consumers, and importation to meet the needs of larger scale users.

With regard to the second objective of the assessment, it was observed that many of the supply problems appear to be caused by equipment failure through inappropriate equipment selection and plant layout, by inadequate preventative maintenance and spares, and by inadequate knowledge of the correct planning of extractive procedures.  The report drew attention to the less than satisfactory approach to systematic quality control, and the result observed in poor material quality. Testing was not regularly applied to maintain minimum standards of product quality, and there was a corresponding lack of visual awareness of poor quality. Even when testing was stated to be regularly applied, the product did not always meet expectations corresponding to international standards. The Report concluded that all the problems are closely allied, in that there is a shortage of properly trained people at every level in the industry. This shortage of appropriately qualified people is, effectively, a serious shortage in technical resources to the industry.

It was recognised that the provision of a wide range of craft, technician and managerial training directly specific to the quarry industry is not yet available locally. The industry has frequently voiced a wish for more training opportunities oriented to the industry, but is too loose and fragmented to initiate the solution, with a few very substantial operators facing competition from numerous small operators working with minimal investment.

Many people still believe that anyone can get into quarrying; it is just a matter of having a deposit, and getting a backhoe, a couple trucks and a washing plant. This is very far from the truth.  The users of aggregate, especially for civil engineering purposes, are very demanding about the specifications of the aggregate that they use. In addition to strict requirements for size and cleanliness, issues such as shape, hardness and susceptibility to sparking require a high level of product knowledge. Efficient operating and maintenance procedures are also necessary to have reliable operations that deliver the required volumes on time. New demands based on compliance with environmental legislation also make the situation more complex.

The challenges of inadequate technical resources and an undeveloped regulatory environment are not unique to the quarry industry. To meet them the industry needs a vibrant aggressive association that would collate its needs and advocate them at the highest levels. It would also have to play a strong role in developing its members and helping them to meet new competition while satisfying the new demands for environmentally responsible operations. The President of the Association recently complained about the difficulty in getting a quorum for his meetings. Members of his executive would be well reminded of the childish but true saying: “ If you snooze, you lose.”

The views expressed in this column are not necessarily those of Guardian Life. You are invited to send your comments to guardianlife@ghl.co.tt