JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Local quarrying and mining industry representative association, the Aggregate and Sand Producers Association of Southern Africa, will from now on be known only by the acronym Aspasa.

The association on Tuesday said the name change better reflects a growing and diverse member base.

The association has represented the sand and aggregate quarrying industry for almost two decades and has assisted the sector to navigate challenging times, in which “legislation has become considerably more challenging and pressures on the overall mining sector have increased tenfold”.

During this time, its efforts to formalise and steer the industry have yielded considerable results and led to the industry being acknowledged as a leader in the fields of health, safety and environmental management locally, as well as globally by peer organisations such as the Global Aggregates Information Network.

“Our work to represent the industry and create a safe, sustainable, fair and level playing field has led to organisations outside of the quarrying industry requesting assistance and membership.

“As a result, we have taken the decision to act broadly on the entire opencast and related mining industries, wherever operations are similar and face similar challenges,” Aspasa chairperson Nico Pienaar said.

As a result, the association adopted the salt and dimension stone mining industries and incorporated the Coal Ash Association into its care. “We are also open to any other opencast mining operations applying for membership and agreeing to uphold our strict standards and be legally compliant with the legislation.”

Pienaar explained that when signing up, members will have to comply with all legal and statutory requirements, as well as undergo two yearly audits to affirm compliance with Aspasa’s health and safety and environmental standards that are closely allied to International Organisation for Standardisation standards.

“Aspasa is a well-known brand name and one that is synonymous with action on behalf of its members. We will, therefore, retain the acronym only,” said Pienaar.