Events

 

15 – 20 June 2016

Regional Training Workshop on Quarry Management of Dimension Stones and Construction Materials

 

 

---

Carrara/Italy

---

 

 

The Regional Training Workshop on Quarry Management of Dimension Stones and Construction Materials brought together 18 sponsored participants and 2 self-sponsored participants from 15 ACP countries to Carrara Italy, the heart of Europe's dimension stone industry from 15-20 June, 2016.

The workshop was held in partnership with the Internazionale Marmi Macchine Carrara. IMM Carrara is a public-sector company dedicated to providing technical and educational support for the dimension stone sector in Italy and owned by the Comune di Carrara, Regione Toscana and other public administrations and private sector shareholders in Italy. IMM Carrara is the leading professional education provider on dimension stones globally.

The workshop aimed to enhance the capacity of public sector agencies, the private sector and quarry associations of the African Caribbean and Pacific Group of States in the management of quarried dimension stones and construction materials. The specific objectives of the workshop were to:

• Increase technical knowledge of operating standards, technologies, techniques and practices for improved quarry management.
• Facilitate south-south knowledge exchange on quarry management practices to improve the performance of the sector and contribute toward inclusive and sustainable development.
• Build the capacity of sector individual stakeholders to further replicate workshop outcomes through the preparation and implementation of return-to-work plans at the country level.

The training workshop incorporated attendance at the 'Stone Sector and Changing Trends' international conference at Internazionale Marmi e Macchine (IMM) Carrara (16-17 June); attendance at the pre-conference training workshop 'Best Practice for Assessment and Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves' (15 June); and attendance at a post-conference workshop/mentoring event on Quarry Management of Dimension Stones and Construction Materials (18-20 June).

Participation of the 20 participants at the StoneChange conference provided an opportunity to expose 150 participants at the conference to key aspects of Development Minerals. Presentations from the programme during the conference included closing remarks by Mr. Sergio Piazzardi – European Commission; and a plenary session chaired by Dr. Daniel Franks – UNDP with two sponsored participants, Nuhu Wya Junior, CIBI Nigeria Limited and Catherine Nyakecho, Uganda Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development providing an overview of the Development Minerals sector in their respective countries. Furthermore, two separate field days to Carrara's marble quarries, processing factories, artisan workshops and export facilities provided ample learning opportunities and skills transfer for the 20 participants.

Presentations from the conference can be downloaded here

PERC Training Course 'Best Practice for Assessment and Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves'

• Dr Edmund Sides, Technical Director, AMEC

Post-Conference Training Workshop on Dimension Stone and Construction Materials Quarry Management, Evaluation and Mining

• Marco Cosi, AlpiConsult Stones
• Dr Piero Primavori, dimension stone international consultant
• Dr Daniel Franks, Chief Technical Advisor & Program Manager, ACP-EU Development Minerals Programme, UNDP

 

Group photo of the workshop participants attending the Regional Training Workshop on Quarry Management of Dimension Stones and Construction Materials.