At its last meeting, the Catalan Aggregates Advisory Council discussed the situation of mining in Catalonia and its environmental impact, and analyzed the demand and prospects for the future. In this regard, it studied the latest statistics of the sector, the projection of these data in the coming years and the risks and opportunities that the industries related to the consumption of aggregates, such as cement, will have to face. In its diagnosis of the situation, the Council showed how the economic recovery has not yet reached a good part of the construction sector, mainly due to the lack of investment in public works. The Council warned that “in such an investment-oriented market, if return expectations start to worsen, the willingness to promote can cool quickly.” Another conclusion of this working group is that “the stabilizing factor is non-local public works. Their expectations improve as the economy does. ”

In this context, the efforts made by the sector to improve its mining, industrial and environmental situation were verified as well as the little echo that these efforts, verifiable in documents or specific Internet portals, have had. That is why it was considered essential to improve communication to society and, in particular, to the population close to the quarries. Given the need to focus efforts, 2018 will be commissioned to design and implement an appropriate and effective communication policy.

The Aggregate Advisory Council is a multi-sectoral body of the Generalitat dedicated to analyzing the demand for aggregates and promoting their sustainable production. It is made up of representatives of several departments of the Generalitat, as well as private sector entities such as the Colegio de Ingenieros de Minas, the Catalan Arid Guild or Ciment Català, among others.

You can check here the report “State of the demand” presented at the last meeting of July 14.