Modern Quarrying January-February 2015

AT THE QUARRY FACE

operation is about managing costs and not just that; in an isolated area that we are in, it is about keeping the Vincents of this company happy. And once they are happy and they understand the strategy, they are able to execute it. I have tried to establish this over the past year. Everyone must understand the big picture, and this year is the year of refining what was established last year. Discussing the social and labour plan, he says PPC De Hoek is in the process of establishing two local POP centres (Path out of Poverty), which are managed through a trust, at a total cost of R5-million. “The one will be located in Porterville and the other in Piketberg, and we will build them in that order. Besides that, our corporate social investment spend is in the region of R300 000/year. “PPC established a POP centre in Riebeeck West, and that is an example for government to care for the youth in the afternoons, and take them off the street. There is skills transfer; they do their homework and there are various supervised activi- ties. This has been running for about four years through the trust, with government assisting us.” The Riebeeck West POP centre has been extremely successful and has created a path for similar centres in the future. Looking at skills training from a De Hoek per- spective, Vorster says there are skills classes that will start running again in February. “These are basic skills from welding, woodwork, painting, motor mechanics, and art, among others. This is run in town and we fund it. We sponsor the lectur- ers and the necessary equipment and tools.” This has been running very successfully for the past four years.” The other CSI spend is on education, and PPC recognises the Dux learners from each school. Discussing the loss of skills in terms of expe- rienced industry people retiring, he says PPC has frequent succession discussions within the

• Product extender: 9,0-37% slag and 3,0% gypsum. On the production side, the ball mill at Raw Mill 5 has a capacity of 95 t/hour. The ball mill at Raw Mill 6 has a capacity of 117 t/hour. On the packaging and logistics side, De Hoek has two packing machines which process 2 900 bags/hour each. There are bulk loading facilities by road and rail, and a cement storage capacity of 20 000 t. “We can pack in excess of 1,4-million bags of cement a month,” Vorster tells MQ , adding that De Hoek can sell some 26 000 t of cement/week. Vorster, who has been general manager at De Hoek for a year, has a long history with PPC and the cement industry in general, having been man- ager at Riebeeck for one year and Saldanha for four years. He has also worked at NPC Simuma and Newcastle, managing the Durban operation for eight years. He was at Newcastle for eight years, four of these as manager. Asked about his personal philosophy, he says it is about aligning with the group’s strategies. “I try to interpret that into a local content. A cement

The shale stockpile is in the region of 5 000 t.

The De Hoek village seen from the N7. The village consists of 75 houses. The houses, which have been upgraded over the years, still incorporate the solid thick walls, foundations and fireplaces built so long ago. The gardens and facilities are beautiful with well- kept facilities, green lawns, fauna and flora. The village includes a well-equipped recreation facility, with a large swimming pool, and of course, a nine-hole golf course.

18

MODERN QUARRYING

January - February 2015