Sand Miners Raise Concern over Government Decision to Import Sand and Aggregate from Overseas

Sand miners on Montserrat are raising serious concerns over a decision that has been taken by government, through contractor Meridian Construction Company, to import sand and aggregate for construction works on the new Port Development Project in Little Bay.

Based on the decision that has been taken, the sand miners are claiming that the government has demonstrated lack of interest in the sand mining industry and the value of sand mining to Montserrat’s economy.

Speaking on behalf of the sand miners, Nigel Osborne, of shamrock Enterprises, which is a member of the sand mining group, states that sand and aggregate have been used extensively in neighbouring islands with no issues.

He is calling o the government to reconsider it decision to sideline the local sand mining industry and to do the necessary to help to keep the industry in the loop.

The other mining entities are Eddie’s Trucking, Wall Trading and Greenaways Trucking

Meantime, in a response to the concerns raised by the sand miners, the Montserrat Port development Project team has issued a statement.

It stated that according to the design criteria and specifications which were developed by Stantec the consultant for the Montserrat Port Development Project, prior to going out to bid, stated that “All aggregates shall be demonstrated innocuous to Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR) by showing expansion less than 0.10% at 16 days after casting the specimen when tested in accordance with Alkali-Silica Reactivity (ASR) Testing (ASTM C1260.

The Alkali-Silica Reactivity test looks at how the Combinations of Cementitious Materials and Aggregate react.

It states that the Alkaline creates an expansive gel around the aggregates which causes the concrete to crack thereby shortening the service life of the structure or element.

The resulting cracks, the statement states, can also accelerate other concrete deterioration processes such as corrosion of embedded reinforcement due to salt water ingress.

ASR, it continues, affects the durability and serviceability of structures, especially marine structures.

The joint statement indicates that the pier is designed and is being constructed to withstand a 1 in 75-year storm with waves up to 7.5m (25ft) plus the factor of safety…..emphasizing that it is an enormous combination of forces that this design takes into consideration and the quality of the material used is supercritical in ensuring that the structure can stand the test of time.

The statement points out that the contractor first tested the locally produced aggregates and sand to check for their suitability for marine construction.

The materials were tested locally and also by an internationally ASTM-certified lab in Texas USA and were confirmed by Stantec, the project’s consultants and supervisors.

It reveals that Unfortunately, the local material did not pass the Alkali-Silica Reaction test.

According to the statement, the test certificates from a number of regional countries were also obtained and only a quarry in The Dominica Republic returned with good ASR results.

The statement says there is a similar situation with the materials for Asphalt road construction, where the physical properties of the local aggregates do not meet the specification, and as a result, aggregates are imported every year from neighbouring Islands to maintain and repair Montserrat’s roads.

The statement outlines that it is important to note that the contractor has purchased local sand and aggregates for works that do not pertain to the construction of the Caissons.

It says that all aggregates and sand used to date on the project are locally produced, including the filter for building the causeway. The statement indicates that there are many more local aggregates, stones, and boulders required to fill the base of the Pier, for the coastal protection works and for the concrete surfacing of the roadway.

The Government of Montserrat endeavours to continue the use of locally-produced aggregates where applicable on the Montserrat Port Development Project, and will also work with the contractor to ensure that local materials are used as much as possible.

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