Modern Quarrying October-November 2016

REGULAR UPDATE ASPASA Aspasa drives the industry to new heights

From a relatively rag-tag bunch of operators in years gone by, the South African quarrying industry has transformed itself into a well-managed and responsible industry that is recognised globally for its standards. In many ways, this has been the result of the efforts of the Aggregate and Sand Producers Association of Southern Africa (Aspasa), which was formed fromwithin the industry to self-regulate and guide individual operators to become a professional and sustainable industry. F or the most part this has already been achieved, and throughout evolving legal and social requirements in the mining sector, Aspasa plays

Afrisam’s Peninsula quarry in the Western Cape (photo Dale Kelly).

This stems from Pienaar’s early days studying law at RAU and later studying industry relations, human resources and labour law at Unisa; all of which were done on a part-time basis and paid from out of his own pocket, spurring him on to make the best possible use of his qualifications. During this time, he held many positions starting with his first job as a legal clerk, banking, industry and human relations practitioner, as well as a trade unionist, before finally finding his passion as the head of Aspasa, and later also Sarma. “When I took up the reins at Aspasa, I had no experience in the quarrying industry and very few, if any, contacts in the industry. But I was undeterred and with the help of a number of industry stalwarts, I learned the ropes and realised the path we needed to take to achieve the goals set down by our industry roleplay- ers,” he says. “We needed to unite the industry and form an association that would fight for the common good of our industry and our members. Next, we set about formalising the industry through the

a force to be reckoned with in the mining industry. Pienaar has become a well-known personality within the mining and con- struction industries. He grew up in small towns in and around Swaziland where the many different social classes and people taught him to become an astute listener and an above-average communicator. As the son of a butcher, this was a require- ment as he often found himself dealing with a diverse array of people. His easy-going personality has been a feature of his career but he is no push- over. His broad knowledge of business, combined with legal training, makes him a tough negotiator as well as being highly capable of pushing his organisation’s agenda. Having spent a period as a trade unionist in South Africa has also assisted him in seeing both sides of the story.

an important role for the entire mining sector. Simultaneously, the quarrying industry has remained buoyant through- out the recent commodity price-induced downturn and continues to provide investors with above-average earning opportunities. When one considers it, aggregate and sand is the mineral most mined throughout the world. Since the turn of the century, the man behind Aspasa – Nico Pienaar – has given direction and played a significant role in the success of the Association. As director, his keen administrative ability combined with unique relationship-building skills and astute legal mind, has made Aspasa

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MODERN QUARRYING October - November 2016