Features

Cement is used in every aspect of construction from roads to housing. European companies operating in this capital intensive sector are also a force to be reckoned with globally. Alan Peterson reports. An important product of a quarry operation, cement plays a pivotal role in every aspect of building and civil engineering - from housing to road construction. Cement is not so much a star in its own right as a strong supporting act to concrete, the most universal of all construction materials.

Rising fuel costs and focus on lower cost per tonne production is leading to more quarries using conveyors for hauling rather than fleets of trucks. Conveyors are nothing new to the quarrying market but each year more and more quarries are opting to use them to haul material about the quarry. What has changed is not so much the design and performance of conveyors, but the factors affecting other hauling options.

Operator comfort and wellbeing is high on the agenda for both construction equipment manufacturers and quarry operators, and introduction of the Human Vibration Directive will add a new legislative driver to the trend. Claire Symes and Mark Cherrington report

Trafficking over rough ground is almost unavoidable in a quarry or on a construction site and the vibrations this creates are a major cause of wear and tear on equipment. Manufacturers have developed better suspension systems to reduce the impact bu

Caterpillar's rigid dump trucks are a well established range but their origins date back 45 years to the 32tonne 769 machine. Mike Woof looks at the company's original concept. When Caterpillar's 769 rigid dump truck (RDT) made its debut in 1962 the machine featured a 32tonne (36 short ton) payload and a mechanical drivetrain that allowed a top speed of 66km/h. Aimed mainly at the quarrying and construction sectors, this machine was conventional by the standards of the time and technically at least, it di

Investment in crushing and screening equipment is helping one Irish quarry operator make the most of its decorative deposit. Demand for high quality paving products has helped boost the fortunes of Donegal-based Muckish Sand & Gravel and the company has invested in equipment to keep pace. The family-owned Irish quarry operator uses a fleet of six Fintec machines and a Sandvik crusher at the Fallay site. The company processes the crushed and screened material to produce a number of aggregate products from th

With the experience of four quarrying companies behind it, Turkey's Maden Yapi is well positioned to capitalise on the country's future growth. Quarrying is in abundance in Turkey as the country tries to meet demand for aggregates and even the government is offering incentives to encourage this type of work. The reason for all the activity is part of the work needed to help towards Turkey joining the EU in 2015, which calls for development of an improved infrastructure. One company well positioned to benefi

For centuries production of an industrial mineral has shaped the Cornish countryside but Aggregate Industries is working to return it to its natural state. The landscape of one UK county could be set to change forever because of a boom in the demand for recycled and more sustainable sources of rock. For hundreds of years, unused by-product from the china clay industry in Cornwall has been abandoned as part of the process, creating huge piles of waste material, known locally as the Cornish Alps.

The Rapid rise in concrete construction in the United Arab Emirates sultanate of Oman is driving investment in quarrying equipment as operators step up aggregate production to meet demand

Oman's network of wadis (dry channels that only flood with water during heavy rain) provide near perfect quarrying conditions. The floodwater travelling at up to 30km/h often deposits similarly sized, unconsolidated silt, sand or rock in the channels that can be quarried easily using wheeled loaders.

Local quarry ope

At the end of his two year stint as president of the European Aggregates Association, Didier Audibert tells Paul Howard about what's been achieved and what remains to be done. Even after two years as European Aggregates Association (UEPG) president there's a palpable sense of disbelief in Didier Audibert's voice as he sets out one of its key roles - to inform European legislators and policy makers about this often maligned and misunderstood industry.

Dust can be a big problem for quarries but careful monitoring is essential to find the right solution, according to SLR Consulting's Rachel Cutler. Noise, dust and vibration are all issues that can cause friction between quarry operations and the surrounding local communities and are all problems the quarrying industry is working to mitigate. Sources of noise and vibration can be fairly easily identified and isolated but preventing dust is more of a challenge as there can be multiple sources and deposition