Strategic location delivers benefits for
Kiwi Point Quarry

Kiwi Point Quarry, situated in Wellington’s Ngauranga Gorge to the west of State Highway 1, is now among the quarries operated by one of the world’s leading producers of cement and aggregates, Holcim.

Operation of this Wellington quarry was taken over by Holcim New Zealand last August, after having been operated by Atom Hire since 2006. The quarry was established in the 1930s and has always been owned by the Wellington City Council. Originally the council utilised the quarry for its own roading needs, but since 1995 the facility has been open to the public.

Today Kiwi Point Quarry produces around 350,000 tonnes of greywacke each year for use across the Wellington region. Its 37 aggregate products consist mainly of concrete aggregates and roading aggregates, including asphalt, sealing materials and recycled aggregate, with 90% of product sold direct from the site.

Central to Wellington

Taking over the operation of this strategically located quarry has provided Holcim New Zealand with the opportunity to re-establish its presence in quarrying in the lower North Island. The company has previously operated quarries at Owhiro Bay, which closed in 1999, and at Plimmerton until 2003.

“A limiting factor in the success of these quarries was their position relative to Wellington,” says Holcim New Zealand general manager, concrete and aggregates, David Howie. “With aggregates being a comparatively low-value but high-volume commodity, the distance between a quarry and its marketplace is an important consideration. Kiwi Point’s location and resource so close to central Wellington is key to its success.”

Certainly the number of active quarries in the Wellington region has dramatically declined over the years. In 1978 there were 32 quarries operating in the region. By 2003, just three remained. Today Kiwi Point is Wellington’s last remaining city quarry, with the next closest being Horokiwi on the border of Wellington City and Lower Hutt.

Extraction from the current Kiwi Point Quarry resource is well advanced, but a district plan change passed by Wellington City Council several years ago has resulted in rezoning to allow quarrying on a previously quarried working area to the south of the current site. This area was previously quarried up until the mid- 1970s and then abandoned because the rock was too hard for the technology of the time. Technological advances now mean it could yield several decades’ supply of high-quality rock and will be worked as the current resource is run out.

Heavy-duty equipment

“Since being taken over by Holcim, the quarry has purchased a new 50 tonne Hyundai 500LC-7 excavator,” says Kiwi Point Quarry operations manager, Brian Bouzaid. “As well as being chosen for its suitability for the site and the job, the new machine improves fuel consumption and effectively reduces our operating emissions – an important consideration for Holcim.”

Kiwi Point Quarry also operates Komatsu PC300 and PC200 excavators, Moxy articulated and Komatsu ridged dumpers, three Komatsu loaders, a Metso LT1110 mobile crusher, ST348 screening plant and large fixed crushing and screening plant.

“Our customers range from the home handyman through to national roading and concrete companies,” Brian says. “Over the years Kiwi Point has provided aggregates to a number of significant projects, including Te Papa, the Wellington rail upgrade project, the innercity bypass, CentrePort redevelopment, and the artificial sports field recently built by Wellington City Council in preparation for the Rugby World Cup.” Howie says. “However, we expect the Jones Block will yield its first aggregate later this year.”

In Hastings, Holcim New Zealand operates a river shingle operation, drawing greywacke from the Ngaruroro River to supply base-course, asphalt and concrete markets locally and as far afield as Taupo, Gisborne and Auckland. A new crushing cone has recently been installed at Hastings Quarry with an eye to the current demand for roading products, driven by recent infrastructure projects such as the Hawke’s Bay Expressway.

As well as its quarries at Bombay and Hastings, Holcim runs a small quarry operation at Martinborough which processes alluvial material in the southern Wairarapa for local supply and to the wider Wellington region. The company also has a 50% stake in Millbrook Quarry at Whangaripo, which serves the Rodney district, and a 25% stake in Atlas Resources.

Worldwide, Holcim operates 485 aggregate plants which produced 143 million tonnes of aggregate last year. This aspect of operations employs nearly 7000 of Holcim’s 80,000 employees. With operations in around 70 countries on every continent, Holcim is more globally spread than any other building materials group. “This global presence means we can tap into the expertise of our group companies worldwide, as well as the wealth of knowledge we have locally”, David says.

Commitment to H&S and the environment

While Kiwi Point Quarry, with its 18 staff, is just a small part of this world operation, it reflects the company’s worldwide commitment to health and safety and the environment. “Since coming on board Holcim, all staff have received the company’s indepth health and safety training, which has a strong focus on empowering all staff to take ownership of their actions,” David explains.

Good community relations are also important, given that Kiwi Point sits at the bottom of a basin, with residential areas located at the top of its surrounding ridges. The quarry operates within very strict consent conditions and is proactive in maintaining positive relationships with its neighbours.

“Being so close to the city and with housing nearby, we would certainly rather identify any potential issues early, and be able to work with our neighbours to achieve a satisfactory solution,” David adds.

Kiwi Point has had ISO certification since 1996 and, along with Martinborough Sand and Gravel, has recently joined all other Holcim New Zealand sites in achieving ISO14001 environmental certification. ISO14001 specifies actual requirements for the quarry’s environment management system for those aspects over which the company has control and over which it can be expected to have an influence. It is externally audited each year.

Over the years the quarry has won several environmental awards, acknowledging its operational performance as a city quarry so close to residential houses and an export meat processing plant.

While 2009 was a difficult year with aggregate sales from Holcim’s Bombay and Hastings Quarries down by about 20%, the move back into the lower North Island is designed to position it well for the future, and reflects the company’s desire to expand its quarry interests.

David Howie says the transition of the quarry into the company’s aggregates division has gone very smoothly, and Brian Bouzaid is also very positive about the move. “Having experienced, over the last ten months, the way Holcim operates, I feel that Kiwi Point has a very positive future,” Brian says. “It’s great to be part of such a well-respected international company with all the benefits this offers for our staff and our customers.”