Pit & Quarry, August 2012

INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT Main addresses concerns of aggregate associations MSHA Assistant Secretary of Labor Joe Main outlined a number of initiatives and reforms his agency has undertaken over the last two years in remarks Monday to several Midwest state aggregate associations He also reflected on the disaster that killed 29 miners at the Upper Big Branch in April 2010 and described how the accident forced MSHA to reexamine safety and health There has been an intense examination of that tragedy and MSHA and the industry have undergone significant change as we have sought to find and fix deficiencies in mine safety and health Main says He points to an 8 percent decline in citations and orders issued from 2010 to 2011 as well as a 12 percent decline in the number of significant and substantial S S citations and orders as a sign of improvement throughout the industry Martin Marietta Vulcan ruling explained further Bloomberg reports that the Delaware Supreme Court has expanded on a May 31 ruling concluding in a 42 page explanatory opinion that a lower court properly found Martin Marietta Materials Inc could not proceed with a hostile takeover of Vulcan Materials Co for four months The justices wrote in the opinion that It is undisputed that the confidentiality agreements in this case were true confidentiality agreements violated by Martin Marietta Materials As Bloomberg reports the justices further write that the agreements did not categorically preclude Martin from making a hostile takeover bid for Vulcan What they did was preclude Martin from using and disclosing Vulcans confidential nonpublic information MagnaGear XTR for High Torque Applications Visit Kaman Engineered with proven at booth 935 Baldor Dodge at MINExpo planetary International and helical 2012 technology the MagnaGear XTR is a heavy duty power dense design that produces more torque in less space Maximize Reliability Increase Bottom Line For more information on MagnaGear XTR reducers for your mining operation speak with a MSHA certifi ed Kaman representative at booth 935 at MINExpo International 2012 Industry briefs Graniterocks president CEO dies tragically On June 24 a tragic accident took the life of Graniterocks chairman president and CEO Bruce Woolpert Placer County Calif deputies determined the death was an accidental drowning Mark Kaminski Woolpert a long time member of Graniterocks board is now chairman of the board and acting CEO Cemex drops plans for Vegas area gravel operations The Las Vegas Review Journal reports that Cemex is no longer eyeing plans for a controversial gravel operation at Sloan Hills in the south Las Vegas Valley According to the report Cemex officials said the company was responding to protests by residents of housing developments within a few miles of the proposed operation Congressional lawmakers including Sens Harry Reid and Dean Heller of Nevada had introduced bills to block the project Irving Materials purchases competitor Irving Materials Inc has acquired the assets of Rock Industries Inc The Indianapolis Business Journal reports Terms of the transaction were not disclosed Rock Industries operates quarries in Peru and Plymouth Ind Knife River names safety director Sean Haggerty has been promoted to safety director at Knife River Corp He will be based out of the companys offices in Stockton Calif NSSGA hires vice president of membership Pamala Bouchard joined NSSGA as vice president of membership Bouchards role is to develop and implement the associations annual membership recruitment and retention Bouchard programs She also assumes oversight for meeting planning www pitandquarry com August 2012 PIT QUARRY 7