Modern Quarrying January-February 2015

AT THE QUARRY FACE

municipalities in 2018. It’s a process of small steps to first see the impact from the tyres and then see the impact from the rawmaterial, and to follow this up with minor adjustments.” As part of PPC’s strategy and long-term plan to grow revenue by 40% outside of South Africa, the group is expanding its operational footprint into the rest of Africa, including Algeria, Botswana, DRC, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Zimbabwe. Asked where the De Hoek operation fits in, in terms of PPC’s African strategy, Vorster says: “We have a slogan ‘Keep the home fires burning’, and the funding for the African strategy comes from the group’s South African operations, so we need to be efficient. De Hoek is a primary plant within the PPC Group which makes clinker for the Western Cape.” Products produced at this facility are a 52,5 down to a 42,5 premium cement. “This deposit is high in alkaline, which assists in making the quality products at De Hoek,” he adds. “We are very fortu- nate in having a quality shale and lime deposit.” There are 48 employees on the quarry side, 21 people per shift, on a two-shift operation five days a week. “The cement plant runs for 365 days, on a 24-hour basis, so I have to work smartly for five days to keep them running for seven days,” Diergaardt says. Packing and distribution is five to five and a half days a week. The total staff comple- ment is 220 people. “We have quite a few people who have been with us for close to 30 or over 40 years,” Vorster tells MQ , which is something that says a lot for the operation. The picturesque village at De Hoek incorpo- rates some 75 houses for critical staff, one of whom is Vincent Diergaardt and his family. The first house was built in 1921, with the golf club established in 1922. “We love living in a close environment such as this. It is safe and secure, and we are part of a wonderful community.”

Above: The ramp is being shortened to enable more

efficient hauling in terms of the whole pit, the wall will need to be shifted towards the east as the limestone is getting deeper and deeper. Centre: Stacking and reclaiming: Three are three limestone piles, one full, one being reclaimed and one being stacked at 18 000 t each.

shortages, Diergaardt says the operation is one of Eskom’s clients on a major drive to save energy, “and we also switch off some of our equipment during peak times especially during 18:00 and 20:00 in the evening.” “We are on Eskom’s time-of-use tariff and in the mornings between 08:00 and 10:00 we also stop our plant if our stockpiles are sufficient,” Vorster confirms, adding that the 18:00 to 20:00 is criti- cal for Eskom and De Hoek. “We also have a cur- tailment-of-time contract with Eskom which says that on request, we will stop operations. So they will notify us that it’s either a Stage One or Stage Two, the municipality is load-shedding, and then at Stage Three, they will ask us to stop significantly more of our plant. “If we look at fuel, there is not really much that we can do. However, despite carbon tax intro- duction being delayed to 2016, we are busy with a number of initiatives. In terms of alternative fuels, we have concluded an agreement with the Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (REDISA), to process waste tyres at De Hoek, and to commence the burning of these by mid-2015. What happens in the landfill areas of the municipalities and metropolitan areas is that tyres tend to shift the landfill. You are not allowed to landfill tyres. “Some of our competitors are also burning tyres, but what we are providing is a major capital outlay to build an automated, environmentally- friendly facility for this purpose. That is Phase One, and Phase Two will be refuse-derived fuel from

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MODERN QUARRYING

January - February 2015