Global demand for aggregates is expected to improve in 2022 as the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and adapts to new ways of doing business post lockdowns.
Statistics released by the Global Aggregates Information Network (GAIN), of which South Africa’s surface mining industry association, ASPASA, is a member, show that most countries recorded steep production losses in 2020 with a slow recovery in 2021.
Steadily rising production figures internationally also indicate a strong possibility of higher production rates this year, with an estimated global figure of 46-billion tonnes (t) expected, which will be driven mainly by China (24 014-million tonnes) and India (2 200-million tonnes).
Locally, ASPASA figures show that total aggregates output plunged by approximately 10-million tonnes in 2020 from 60-million tonnes in 2019 to 50-million. While there was a slight recovery in 2021, ASPASA predicts a rise in output in 2022 to 55-million tonnes. With significant road projects on the cards and a rebound in construction activity in general, the figures could even surpass the projected output.
ASPASA director, Nico Pienaar, says global trends usually have a direct bearing on the local market and that a rise in production across all GAIN member countries is a sure sign of recovery in 2022. “We need to maintain a positive outlook going forward and data like this serves to strengthen our resolve,” says Pienaar.
