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July - August 2015
MODERN QUARRYING
15
AT THE
QUARRY FACE
WITH
BREWELSKLOOF
The Concrete and Readymix division supplies con-
crete primarily to large-scale civil engineering and infra-
structure projects through fixed and mobile plant, where
concrete is batched on demand and transported to site.
Coad says the majority of raw materials for the Concrete
and Readymix division are supplied from Afrimat’s various
quarry operations.
Coad hails from a mining background with some 17
years in platinum production, where he was mine captain
with extensive underground experience, later moving over
to the old Pioneer Readymix, and then RMM (Lafarge) in
the aggregate division before joining Afrimat seven years
ago. He says Brewelskloof has come a long way since its old
Prima days with Francois du Toit, who is still on the Afrimat
board. (Interestingly, Prima was established in 1963, as the
brainchild of Francois’ father Christiaan du Toit. He was a
grader operator who identified a market for aggregates.
Francois took over the Worcester-based company on his
death, and the driven principles established then continue
to influence the company of today).
“The economy is up and down but our production
drive is ongoing. We are very busy and there are several
new tenders in the process at the moment. There is a lot
happening in the Western Cape, and this is an advantage
for our other quarries as well.”
Asked about the DMR, he says the company has a great
relationship with the Inspectorate. “Coming from a mining
environment, I would say that this is the best I have experi-
enced. With Louis Bezuidenhout as our Principal Inspector
here in the Western Cape, our relationship is very good.
He understands mining. We have an open door policy and
appreciate any assistance they offer to us.”
Coad also sees the company’s Aspasa membership as
a major benefit. “I strongly believe in Aspasa because the
issues they raise are relevant. They fight for our cause in
terms of the new regulations, and that fact that under-
ground and surface mining are identified in terms of legis-
lation as one and the same. We are a Five Star quarry on the
environmental and safety and health side. Also, the third-
party audits by Aspasa, Sarma and external consultants
support our environmental conservation and protection
efforts and assist with our EMPs.”
As a group, Afrimat prioritises health and safety as the
key to successful and sustainable operations, with man-
agement primarily responsible for implementing the com-
pany’s extensive health and safety policy.“Implementation
is monitored very closely and all incidents are tracked on a
monthly basis,” Coad tells
MQ
.
Drilling and blasting is handled by the company’s
Contracting division with blasting at Brewelskloof carried
out on a monthly basis.
Talking about skills transfer, he says it is a work in
progress to encourage youngsters into the industry. “Let’s
face it, there is a shortage of artisan skills. The majority of
youngsters don’t want to sit behind a welding machine
and this is a problem across the board. We have to look
after them and give them a decent start-up salary and
incentives.”
Phase one of the planned new development, of which the first stage has already been
completed.
Second wash plant in the foreground. While taking the photograph, the plant had just
been started up, hence the dust in the background.
The weighbridge at Brewelskloof.