Modern Quarrying Q4 2021

The Volvo EX750D working on site, alongside the A40 dump truck and the L120GZ wheel loader.

T he performance of the aggregates industry is generally a true measure of the state of the construction market. Having reached its peak between 2016 and 2017, the construction materials market was already experiencing a slightly negative trajectory when COVID-19 hit at the start of 2020. However, some industry players have seen a V -shaped recovery in recent months, with volumes even surpassing the pre-COVID levels at some point. In his recent interactions with some of the quarry operators and their contractor counterparts, David Vaughan, MD of Babcock’s Equipment division, has learnt that, despite the marked increase in volumes, the industry has not returned to the 2016/2017 levels, largely due to the lack of large government infrastruc- ture projects. There is, however, some road maintenance projects currently underway across some of the provinces, but on a small scale. Against this backdrop, Vaughan

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Amid a depressed construction market, quarry owners and mining contractors are forced to sweat their assets

Babcock has had instances where its Volvo machines are being run for up to 30 000 hours, and are measuring up to the taxing demands of extended lifecycles

At a time when commercial banks’ appetite for risk is low, quarry owners can benefit from Volvo Financial Services’ flexible finance options

Extended machine lifecycles call for a strong maintenance regime to ensure that machines are kept in optimum condition

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QUARTER 4 - 2021 MODERN QUARRYING