INSTITUTE OF QUARRYING
MID-YEAR CONFERENCE
By Robyn Grimsley
On 21 and 22 September 2017, the Institute of Quarrying Southern Africa (IQSA) held its mid-year
conference at Emperors Palace in Gauteng. Although much smaller in scale than the annual conference
in April, the event covered several areas of great importance to the quarrying industry, particularly in
terms of the environment.
A
IQSA chairman, Simon Tose.
36 _ QUARRY SA | NOVEMBER 2017
fter welcoming those present at the
conference, IQSA chairman Simon Tose
handed over to the first speaker of the
day: Andrew Nicolson from Umhlaba
Environmental Consulting, whose presentation
delivered a practical update on EMP amendments,
financial provisions, and environmental audits.
Next up was keynote speaker Sean Wisedale,
an adventurer who was the first South African to
achieve the 'Seven Summits' — a mountaineering
prize awarded to those who summit the highest
mountain on each of the seven continents. He shared
the story of his climb of Mount Everest, emphasising
the need to adapt in order to overcome challenges.
Shepstone Wylie Attorneys’ Debbie Ntombela
delivered a presentation on the current Mining
Charter, highlighting potential problems that
mine managers may not be aware of, and
paying particular attention to the requirements
surrounding the Social and Labour Plan (SLP).
Nico Herbst from Roadlab walked attendees
through new technologies in aggregate testing
— a particularly important topic given the lack
of standardised testing in South Africa and the
potential liability for quarry owners.
Bronwyn Parker from Werksmans Attorneys
delivered a presentation covering updates to
environmental law, including environmental
inspectors, rezoning, and protected areas, followed
by AfriSam junior engineer Lloyd Maringa’s
talk on electrical energy resource consumption
management in aggregate operations.
The final presentation of the day was
delivered by Tose in his capacity as global mining
optimisation manager for AEL Mining Services,
and focused on managing the risk of charging hot
holes with explosives.
Friday 22 September saw delegates gather
at the Franz Hoenig House and Museum
before heading through to the AEL factory
in Modderfontein. After a tour of the facility,
everyone headed off to the range to watch a
demonstration demolition — an exciting end to a
packed two days. n