Rotate’s aim to increase efficiency and recovery rate of critical raw materials, raw materials, and water has arrived to South America as part of the Federación de Áridos – ANEFA mission to GAIN – Global Aggregates Information Network’s Global Meeting in Cordoba, Argentina where César Luaces, secretary general at ANEFA, the leader of the project, presented Rotate to all the attendants in a special session. GAIN, founded in 2010, is an entirely voluntary network of the major regional aggregate associations of the world. It has no commercial interests and vigorously enforces an anti-trust policy.
Organised by the Cámara Empresaria Minera de Córdoba, the Cámara de la Piedra de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, and the Federación Argentina de la Piedra, this event, chaired by GAIN’s President Jim O’Brien, was attended by 55 delegates from countries such as China, South Korea, Malaysia, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Colombia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Chile, Argentina and from all over Europe. Speaking of our continent, the European delegation was represented by Aggregates Europe – UEPG in the figures of Antonis Latouros (President); Dirk Fincke (Secretary General); César Luaces (FdA Director General and Chairman of several FdA Committees and Task Forces) and Jaume Puig (FdA Secretary General and Chairman of the Communication TF). In addition, on behalf of the FdA, Alfons Porro (Vice-President of our institution) and Joaquim Roca (member of the Board of Directors) attended.
It has been two days full of meetings, with nearly 50 interventions in total, including eight by the aforementioned César Luaces, on vital issues for the global economy such as climate change, water management, standardisation of sustainable mining management, future trends concerning mobile machinery for quarries and gravel pits, the risks and opportunities of digitization and other issues that are at the forefront not only of the aggregates industry but also of mining as a productive activity. It is in this sense that projects financed by the European Commission and led by one of our member associations, ANEFA, such as the DigiEcoQuarry, Rotate, and SCIMIN-CRM projects, are of particular importance.
Jaume Puig gave two further presentations on the Catalan Aggregates Advisory Council as a successful case of public-private dialogue and on UEPG’s communication and public relations strategy.
Among the most important agreements that stand out after the event is the appointment of Antonis Latouros (President of Aggregates Europe—UEPG) as Vice-President of GAIN.
There is also great news for our federation regarding our next VII Spanish National Aggregates Congress, which will occur in another Cordoba (this time in Spain), on 22-24 October 2025. GAIN has approved organizing its 2025 meeting during the celebration of our congress, so representatives of the world aggregates industry will meet at our event once again.