Fact Files

Aggregates are the most consumed bulk product in the world after water.

• New Zealand uses 9-10 tonnes of aggregate every year for each adult and child.
• To build an average house, you need about 250 tonnes of aggregate – for use in concrete, asphalt, mortar and building products.
• To build 1km of a two-lane motorway, you need around 14,000 tonnes of construction aggregates (400 truckloads).
• Quarrying needs to be carried out close to where materials will be used. This keeps transportation costs low and helps to minimise building costs and emissions in local communities. Otherwise, it costs double for every 30km further away from its source.
• The quarry industry is committed to working alongside local communities and follows stringent planning, environmental and operating conditions.
• New Zealand needs to plan ahead and protect our aggregate supplies – so we can provide affordable houses for Kiwis and continue to build and repair our infrastructure.

Aggregates are fundamental to the lives of everyday New Zealanders. Without an on-going supply of aggregates, the production of concrete and the development of buildings, roads and infrastructure would come to a standstill.

New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals (NZPAM) latest statistics show quarried material production just shy of 40 million tonnes reported for the 2019 year. That works out at 8.1t per capita (in red below). When corrected for the response rate (not all quarries report their tonnages), total production is just over 50Mt for the year which equates to 10.2t per capita for every Kiwi (about one truckload each).

The output per quarry continues its upwards trend. The annual average output per quarry is now over 95,000t – well over double that of five years ago.

Looking at the material uses, 2019 was the first year since 1995 where roading aggregate made up over 60% of quarried materials.

Roading products (24Mt) increased their total tonnage for the third year in a row.

Building aggregates declined to 15% (5.8Mt) which was significantly down on the previous 5-year average of 9Mt.

The direct revenue earned from the 40m tonnes of aggregates produced was $655M in 2019. The economic benefit of quarrying (and mining) to our country contribtuted $2.6 billion to New Zealand’s economy in 2019. 3300 people are directly employed in quarries (WorkSafe 2020 data).

New Zealand – 10.1t/person (corrected), 8.0t (reported), 10t/person – industry estimate

British Columbia (Canada) 50Mt / 5.017 population = 10t/person

Australia – 8.0t/per person

United States – 7.7t/person (2016)

South Africa 2.5t/person (2016)

For each tonne of aggregate produced, the first 30 kilometres it has to travel doubles the overall cost. There are further costs for every extra kilometre – and these costs are passed on to consumers. That’s why it’s crucial that aggregates are sourced as close as possible to where they are needed.

This is from UEPG but is the year before our 2019 stats

And this graph compares regional production over the last decade.

Note also the drop in revenue per tonne in 2018/19