Quarry NZ Release

Quarry NZ: The following information is provided by the Aggregate and Quarry Association of New Zealand (AQA).

Note to editors

The following information is provided by the Aggregate and Quarry Association of New Zealand (AQA).

Forward planning by the industry is underway to ensure future supplies of aggregate are available to meet infrastructure planning.

But the gap between future demand for aggregate and consented reserves is widening. For instance, Auckland has between eight and 12 years of consented resource left based on yearly averages to date.

That may sound fine but gaining consent for a new resource can take 10 years and this is based on historical records as no one has consented a greenfields quarry for over a decade.

Background on the Aggregate and Quarry Association of New Zealand (AQA)

Established for over 40 years, the Aggregate and Quarry Association is the national body representing 85% of the companies involved in New Zealand’s quarrying industry that produces nearly 50 million tonnes of aggregates - natural materials such as crushed rock, gravel, sand and river stone and allied raw materials such as limestone as an input for cement and fertiliser.

Rock is the foundation for us all. It is the base product for roads and motorways, major and minor construction like hospitals, schools, and housing. But though aggregate is fundamental to New Zealand’s infrastructure it is an industry that has to fight for its right to produce raw materials.

The industry wants to be able to provide aggregates at the lowest price possible – and that means close to the end work site.

Locally sourced aggregate is the most cost-effective for while aggregates are low value relative to weight, increasing the distance over which they are transported from quarry to construction site adds significantly to costs.

For every 30kms travelled the material can double in price. In some instances aggregate now has to be transported over 100kms to its destination. This additional cost is borne by the end user, and by residents via their rates.

As local bodies use approximately 75% of aggregates produced it would seem likely that forward planning for quarry sites would be the responsibility of local authorities to ensure supply. This is not the case. Access to appropriate land is subject to the processes of the Resource Management Act, at the local body level.

There is no provision by central or local government to ensure an adequate supply of aggregate even though it is essential to New Zealand’s growth. Forward planning for building works, major road and motorways does not factor in the massive supply of locally sourced basic materials that will be required over a period of years to complete these works.

Next time you hear talk about the infrastructure plans – major motorways and super cities – ask a small question: will there be enough aggregate to complete the works?

ENDS

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