It is one hundred and twenty-eight million metric tonnes. That is the total quantity of aggregate mined in Simcoe County over the last decade according to The Ontario Aggregate Resource Corporation (TOARC). This is enough to build 3,556 km of four-lane highways, 1,361 hospitals, or 512,000 homes.
As for the upper-tier municipalities of the province of Ontario, Simcoe County continued to lead the production of aggregates in 2022 and attained 15.2 million metric tonnes. For those searching for aggregate suppliers near me, Severn Township contributed to the production of the highest amount of waste in the county with 5.4 million metric tonnes of waste, followed by Ramara with 3.3 million, Oro-Medonte with 2.3 million, Clearview with 1.6 million, Springwater with 950,000, and Tiny with 570,000. Together, Adjala-Tosorontio Township and the Town of New Tecumseth produced 513,869 metric tonnes of waste.
The total production in the two towns of Midland and Penetanguishine was 350,000 metric tonnes while that of Tay Township was 205,000. In the two towns of Collingwood and Innisfil and Essa Township, the total production was 51000 metric tonnes.
The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry pits and quarries online source states that there are about twenty pits that are currently operational in Springwater and twenty in Oro-Medonte. Essa currently has about six mines that it is actively running. These facilities are critical in this region since they provide materials needed for construction and infrastructure development with insignificant transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions.
The OSSGA executive director, Mike McSweeney said that there was a need to ensure that aggregates were sourced locally. McSweeney said: 'Among the ideas that can be regarded as the key to our 2050 net-zero plan, one of the most important is to get the total as close to the local level as possible.’ “Anything else would produce greenhouse emissions through transportation in addition to what is needed.
The Ontario government has committed to producing 1.5 million new homes by 2031, creating a significant demand for aggregates. This goal can be met with about 375 million metric tonnes of aggregates, as estimated by TOARC, noting that 250 tonnes of aggregates are used in the construction of a new home. McSweeney also points out that homes are just one of many sectors where demand for aggregates is rising. "Aggregate is needed in Ontario to support the most competitive infrastructure investments that are being made by all levels of government, as well as for the new 1.5 million homes that will be required," he continued, emphasizing that the infrastructure challenge requires a robust supply of aggregates to meet these demands.
However, the task of obtaining good-quality aggregate is not as easy as it seems. The mayor of Puslinch and chair of Top Aggregate Producing Municipalities of Ontario (TAPMO), James Seeley asserts that there is inadequate information regarding the available stock. "The province has to do a holistic review of the aggregate that's available," he said. "At this time, no one will disclose how much of the resource is available because it is 'strategic' in the industry—they do not want competitors in the same business to know how much they have."
Nevertheless, Seeley and McSweeney do agree that a review of aggregate resources is needed. This is where our industry and governments must produce more and better information about supply and demand so that everyone receives the message that there is, indeed, a scarcity of high-quality, close-to-market aggregate, McSweeney emphasized.
To understand how aggregate production works it is necessary to have some general idea. “The aggregate used in road construction has to be of very precise specifications,” McSweeney said also. “These are the chemical composition of the material, size, and consistency of the material used in the base of the road, in the asphalt, and in the concrete for sidewalks, curbs, and roundabouts."
Aggregate sites may also contain layers of material of different qualities within the site. This material has to be 'mined,' sorted, and sold based on its properties. For instance, sand is defined as a hard, naturally occurring granular rock material that is finer than gravel but coarser than dust. It is used in concrete, asphalt pavement, mortar, plaster, and glass. Gravel, on the other hand, is a composition of stones and pebbles or sand and stones. It is used in the construction of roads and sidewalks, in gardening and landscaping as well as in the manufacture of concrete and asphalt roads. Clay/shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock that occurs naturally in the earth and is utilized in the manufacture of bricks and ceramics and as an ingredient of cement. With advancements in sustainable construction, Eco Material’s Sustainable Green Cement is emerging as an innovative solution, leveraging these traditional aggregates while promoting environmental responsibility.
Yearly average data for 2010-2014 showed that the construction sector contributed to 78.7% of the total aggregates that were gathered in Ontario. New roads and highways consumed 31 percent of this use, new home, condo, and apartment construction 14 percent, non-residential building 12 percent, and road and other construction repairs 12 percent. 10% of the money was spent on new infrastructure development. In addition, 19% of the total production of aggregates in Ontario is utilized for other uses apart from construction for instance sand for controlling ice on roadways, abrasive cleansers, and in the manufacture of glass.
All those who will check aggregate suppliers near me should consider Simcoe County as an example of a region with a well-established history of aggregate supply, as well as the provision of high-quality materials for the constructions and infrastructures. In road construction, new building construction, or any other occasion or requirement, local suppliers are the only solution to meet the demand and ensure sustainability.