Quarry proves green can be gold

A leading Queensland quarry operator has demonstrated that extractive industries and local ecosystems can successfully co-exist, through clever and sustainable practices.

Hanson Australia has been recognised as a leader in the field, collecting the state industry’s environmental innovation award for its site rehabilitation program at Wolffdene Quarry. Under the program, just 20% of this 543 ha site is disturbed at any one time, with continuous replanting underway as work progresses.

Before and after: the quarry has undergone an amazing transformation.

As quarry benches drop down to reach their final boundaries, local trees including grevillea, acacia and eucalyptus varieties, are being planted along the worked out terminal faces. By ensuring that the tree line stays above the working area, Wolffdene has also minimised the visual impact for local residents.

Today wallabies, kangaroos, dingos, frilled-neck lizards, cockatoos and carpet snakes live on the rehabilitated site and local school students regularly visit the quarry to learn about its mining activities and restoration efforts.

Wolffdene quarry manager Reno Fabretto said Hanson had made rehabilitation of the site and restoration of the local ecosystem a priority, and the results spoke for themselves.

“Quarry rehabilitation and environmental protection make good economic sense and we have achieved sustainable, economical and efficient quarry bench rehabilitation as part of our day-to-day activities at the Hanson Wolffdene site,” Fabretto said.

“We were extremely pleased to have our efforts recognised by the industry with the 2011 Cement Concrete and Aggregates Australia - Queensland award for environmental innovation and our rehabilitation program is being rolled at other Hanson sites around the country.”

Fabretto said the quarry has been operating for nearly three decades and injected approximately $13 million each year into the surrounding area, employing 30 local staff, up to 60 drivers and supporting 42 local businesses and consultants.

“It is our aim to continue to support this community and the local environment with a successful operation producing essential resources for the wider region,” he said.

Hanson’s Wolffdene Quarry extracts hard rock, natural gravel and different types of sands for use in construction. It has supplied materials for many major projects in South East Queensland, including the number one runway at the Brisbane Airport, the Gateway Arterial road from Rochedale to the Gateway Bridge, the Gateway extension from Eight Mile Plains to Beaudesert Road, the Ipswich Motorway, the Clem 7 Tunnel and the Airport Tunnel.

Hanson Construction Materials is one of the largest producers of aggregates - crushed rock, sand and gravel - and concrete products in the world. The company employs more than 3000 staff and permanent contractors, nationally, at more than 60 quarries, more than 240 concrete plants and a network of preformed concrete product sites around the country.

Hanson owns approximately 10,000 ha of quarry land in Australia but only uses 1500 for quarrying activities, while the remainder is used for buffers, future reserves or has been rehabilitated.