Pit & Quarry, February 2014

RECYCLED AGGREGATES The M2500 from CDE Global is seen here processing clay contaminated material gallons of diesel fuel used and more than 520000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions produced annually he says Land use planners and decision makers in California are faced with balancing a variety of needs Convery says Increasingly as existing permitted aggregate supplies are depleted local land use decisions regarding aggregate resources can have regional impacts that go beyond local jurisdictional boundaries In California for example 4 billion tons of permitted aggregate reserves lie within the 31 aggregate study areas shown on the California Geological Survey Map Sheet 52 The permitted aggregate reserves are deposits that have been determined to be acceptable for commercial use and extraction and are within existing land banks owned or leased by aggregate producing companies that have current extraction permits for the mining of aggregate material In light of these constraints the activity from aggregate companies is increasingly to ask customers to enter into long term supply contracts to ensure regular and sustained supply Convery says In addition shipping materials from greater distances by sea from outside the state of California is proving to be more cost effective than over land given the fluctuating cost of fuel and the dwindling local supply With the inability of the state of California to meet its aggregate demand over the next 50 years is this a symptom of the industry as a whole Is the aggregates industry in danger of being unable to provide adequate resources for the home market For the industry to respond new out of the box thinking is called for but what would that new thinking be Convery says the type of new thinking that may work in this instance is being successfully employed in the United Kingdom and throughout Europe where under European Union legislation recycling initiatives are changing the way the construction and aggregates sector is thinking and operating In Europe heavy penalties are in force for the disposal of construction waste in open landfills with new technologies making it possible to process construction and demolition waste into high value products The recycling of construction and demolition materials may be the answer that states like California is looking for These problems that have been affecting the aggregates industry in California have to some extent also been affecting the UK and Europe Convery says The recent downturn in the UK construction sector has resulted in the granting of new permissions for mineral extractions hitting an all time low This has resulted in talk of a materials famine over the last couple of years and with construction now experiencing a positive upturn new permissions for the extractions of virgin aggregates cannot be granted quickly enough to meet the newly increasing demand For the first time in history the UK is about to become an aggregates importer UK thinking CDE Global is a specialist in materials and aggregates washing manufacturing equipment for pits quarries and mines that are exported all over the world A look at whats happening in Europe may give an insight to the issues California is dealing with and how alternative processes can bridge the Cal Each recycling system CDE Global designs is specific to the material being processed 80 PIT QUARRY February 2014 www pitandquarry com