Addis Ababa University

Addis Ababa Institute of Technology

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Construction Materials (CENG-6105)

AGGREGATE PRODUCTION SITE VISIT

REPORT

SUBMITTED BY: Zenamarkos Zinabie (ID: GSR/6426/16)

Frehiwot Kassa (ID: GSR/3603/16)

Biruk Bogale (ID: GSR/5683/16)

SUBMITTED TO: Biruktawit Taye, Dr.

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS ASSIGNMENT NO. 1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First and foremost, praise and thanks to the God, the Almighty, for His blessings during the
whole of our site visit and report work.

We also would like to express our deepest gratitude to all those who gave us the opportunity to
complete this report. Special thanks go to our instructor, Dr. Biruktawit Taye, for giving us the
opportunity to gain practical knowledge and external industry exposure.

We would also like to acknowledge with much appreciation the crucial role played by the staff of
AACRA Aggregate Production Unit and Israel Aggregate Production Company who allowed us
to see all the basic equipment, production processes and materials necessary to complete the task.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Since aggregates account for approximately 60% to 75% of the total volume of concrete, their
selection is important. Aggregates should consist of particles with adequate strength and
resistance to exposure conditions and should not contain materials that will cause deterioration of
the concrete. A continuous gradation of aggregate particle size is desirable for efficient use of the
paste. The main focus of this report is to visit different aggregate production sites and try to
have a knowhow on a extraction process of raw material from quarry site, visualize step by step
production process of different aggregates including base coarse, subbase, 00, 01, 02 aggregates,
understanding about the handling of aggregates, selling price, efficiency of aggregate crushing
machine and the consistency of their product in terms of supply, quality and sustainability,
furthermore the profitability of the companies are discussed.

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Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................................................................... 1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................. 2
1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 4
2. OBJECTIVE OF SITE VISIT ....................................................................................................................... 5
3. METHODOLOGY AND DISCUSSION ....................................................................................................... 6
3.1 METHODOLOGIES ......................................................................................................................... 6
3.2 DISCUSSIONS ................................................................................................................................. 6
3.2.1 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE SITES................................................................................... 6
3.2.2 WORK PROCEDURES IN THE PRODUCTION PROCESS ........................................................... 8
3.2.3 General condition of the production site and quarry site condition .................................... 10
4. CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................... 14
5. RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................................................................................................... 14
6. REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................ 14

List of Tables

Table 1: production cost for different aggregates ....................................................................................... 11

Table 2: Selling price for different aggregates............................................................................................ 11

List of figures

Figure 1: stone crushing plant layout ........................................................................................................... 9

Figure 2: Pictures in AACRA production site ............................................................................................... 12
Figure 3: pictures at Israel Production Company........................................................................................ 13

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1. Introduction
It is well known that aggregates are the most important constituents of concrete. Aggregates
generally account for 65-75% of the volume of concrete. Therefore, due attention should be paid
to their selection, grading and proportioning. Traditionally, aggregates have been regarded as
chemically inert materials, but it is now recognized that their physical and chemical properties
can affect the concrete paste over time, such as sulfate attack.

Aggregates can be sourced both naturally and artificially. Natural sources can be sourced from
riverbeds as fine aggregate and from quarries (crushed rock) as coarse and fine aggregates, or it
can be sourced artificially as industrial by-products in the form of ground granulated blast
furnace slag (GGBS) and pulverized fuel ash (PFA), or it can be sourced from recycled sources
such as demolished concrete structures.

Listed below are the main properties that need to be considered when selecting good quality
aggregates for concrete mix design.

 Physical property: This includes size, shape, grading and surface texture, and may also
affect the workability of the concrete.
 Chemical property: such as alkali-aggregate reaction (AAR), alkali-silica reaction
(ASR) and alkali- carbonate reaction (ACR).
 Mechanical property: including strength, toughness, hardness, durability and bond
strength.

In our country, Ethiopia, most of the time coarse aggregates are obtained from an open pit mine
(quarry) which is naturally found on the open earth surface. The most common purpose of
quarries is to extract material for the construction of buildings, roads and other public and private
infrastructure. Selecting the best quarry site is therefore critical and involves testing the physical,
mechanical and chemical properties to ensure that the material source is suitable for aggregate
and a geotechnical survey is carried out to determine if the area has a potential source. In
addition, a number of criteria are considered in the selection of a quarry site such as; slope of the
quarry rock face, distance to the quarry site, land use/land cover, accessibility, rock type and
degree of weathering.

This particular site visit report discusses aggregate production sites from quarry to final
production point. It is noted that aggregate suppliers go through different processes and steps to
finalize the product for the intended use.

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2. OBJECTIVE OF SITE VISIT

The main aim of the site visit is to gain an understanding of the aggregates production process,
from quarrying to the finished product, and to link the theoretical view with the actual work on
site. Finally, it is essential to complement the course in the classroom. In addition, it plays a vital
role in exploring and understanding the different activities and techniques carried out in the
aggregate production process, getting to know different machinery and equipment and
discovering the workforce involved in the production process.

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3. METHODOLOGY AND DISCUSSION

3.1 METHODOLOGIES

The method we used to produce this particular report was to physically visit the site and
interview those involved in the production process, such as the materials engineer and production
foreman.

3.2 DISCUSSIONS
3.2.1 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE SITES

In this report we have selected and visited two aggregate production sites in Addis Ababa, which
are located in refenti behind Bole International Airport, fortunately one belongs to the Addis
Ababa City Road Authority (AACRA) and the other belongs to private.

Site-1 Refenti (behind bole international airport)

The Addis Ababa City Road Authority (AACRA) materials production site, which is located in
the Bole sub-city behind Addis Ababa International Airport, was established as a crushing site in
2019 GC, but prior to that the site was used for the production of sub base, base coarse, capping
and masonry materials. Since 2019 GC, after carrying out proper geological survey, this site was
determined to have potential for aggregate production in addition to base coarse and sub base
material production and then AACRA installed the aggregate crushing machine and started
production. Since then it has been supplying material to the public projects consistently, so it is a
government organization, they will not supply the material to the private sector. The total area of
the quarry is 472,878 m2 and it has a potential capacity to supply material for more than 50
years.

Type of material produced

 Base coarse
 Sub base
 02 aggregate (passing through 25mm sieve)
 02 aggregate (passing through 19mm sieve)
 01 aggregate (passing through 9.5mm sieve)
 00 aggregate (passing through 4.75mm sieve)

Production capacity:

 65m³/hr. for base coarse

 60 m³/hr. for base coarse since it requires harder material
 60 m³/hr. for 00 to 02 gravel collectively

Method of quarrying

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 Blasting and jack hammer excavation

Machineries and Equipment's used for production:

 Crusher plant
 Excavator with bucket
 Excavator with jack hammer
 Loaders
 Trucks with capacity of 23m³
 Wagon Driller (that works with air pressure)
 Generator

Facilities on site: Generator powerhouse, explosive house, water tanker, offices, resting rooms,
and tea break areas.

Work force on-site: maintenance crew, production crew, accountants, police assigned for

Explosive issues and guards at main gate (total man power about 80 people).

Site-2 Refenti (Behind Bole International Airport)

Israel Aggregate Production Company is a private company established to provide different
types of aggregates and the same area as AACRA and it is believed to have the same potential
for material and resources as AACRA and the site has covered more than 30,000 m² areas for
their quarry site.

Type of material produced

 Base coarse
 Sub base
 02 aggregate (passing through 25mm sieve)
 02 aggregate (passing through 19mm sieve)
 01 aggregate (passing through 9.5mm sieve)
 00 aggregate (passing through 4.75mm sieve)

Production capacity:

 20 m³/hr. of size 02 gravel, 20m³/hr. and 20m³/hr. so it has a capacity of 60m³/hr. to

produce at a time.
 65m³/hr. for base coarse
 60 m³/hr. for base coarse

Method of quarrying

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 Blasting and jack hammer excavation

Machinery and Equipment's used for production:

 Crasher plant
 Explosives
 Excavator with bucket
 Excavator with jackhammer
 Loaders
 Trucks with capacity of 16m³

Facilities on site: Generator powerhouse, explosive house, water tanker, offices, resting rooms,
and tea break areas.

Work force on-site: maintenance crew, production crew, accountants, police assigned for

Explosive issues and guards at main gate (total man power about 25 people).

3.2.2 WORK PROCEDURES IN THE PRODUCTION PROCESS

Material extraction and production

This process can be done in two ways, the first is by blasting using explosives and it requires
technical staff so the process is a controlled process. The activity involved is that they drill the
surface up to 3m but the machine has the capacity to drill up to 20m and then the explosives are
used to extract and crush the material.

The second way is to extract the material using a jackhammer excavator.

If we compare the two in terms of production, the blasting technique is more efficient than
jackhammering, but in terms of cost, bureaucracy and noise pollution, jackhammering is more
effective.

Transportation of material (boulders) to the crusher machine

The extracted and produced material has transported and stocked on the area which is
appropriate for feeding to the crusher machine.in our case the quarry site is 1km away to the
crushing plant.

Feeding the material to primary crusher

The stockpiled material is fed to the coarse crushing equipment (jaw crusher) by means of a
loader.

Primary Crusher
In this process, the boulders are partially crushed into smaller pieces and will be ready for the
secondary crusher (impact crusher).

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Secondary Crusher (Impact crusher)

Material crushed in the primary crusher is transported to the impact crusher via a conveyor
system. This system continuously feeds the impact crushers at appropriate times.

Screening
Stone from the impact crusher is transferred to the screen panel by a conveyor belt and vibration.
To produce aggregate types of 00, 01, 02 the screen panel are arranged and assembled in
declining order of 25mm, 19mm, 9.5mm, 4.75mm and the material retained on 25mm sieve has
to go back to secondary crushing process and then come back to screening whereas the other
passing through 25mm sieve is going to 4 out lets and gives us 4 types of aggregates this process
is repeated till the material retained on 25mm sieve has come to the desired size and pass through
it.

Where as to produce base coarse and sub base there is only one screen assembled on the top and
its size is 6m length and 2m width and in this the screen is arranged as 4m² 37.5mm sieve, 4m²
9.5mm sieve and 4m² 4.75mm sieve and the material passing through these sieves has mixed and
come through in one out let, hence the material needed for base coarse and sub base has to
contain all types of grading.

Figure 1: stone crushing plant layout

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3.2.3 General condition of the production site and quarry site condition
1. Availability of material/continuity

In terms of material availability, both sites have great potential for aggregate production, which
is estimated to provide material for more than 30 years.

2. Material storage and handling

On both sites they have stored the material close to the production unit or the out let. So in some
cases when there is a lot of stockpile there is lack of area for workability and movement,
additionally the stockpile is exposed to contamination with the dusts coming from the production
unit, it is also exposed to the weather, so it is stockpiled on open air surface. We asked them how
to deal with these aggregates that have been stored for more than a month and they explained
that we have supplied these materials by mixing them with the newly produced ones and in this
way they will improve the quality.

3. Consistency in terms of quality and supply

Both sites have very good aggregate quality in terms of strength, hardness and durability. This is
why their quarries are located in the same area. They are also consistent in terms of aggregate
size distribution. However, we have information that it is difficult to maintain this consistency
during the rainy season due to the muddy nature of the site.

When we come to the supply, Site 1 (AACRA) belongs to the public or the government, so it can
only supply the production for the projects of the Addis Ababa city administration, therefore the
supply of Site 1 depends on the demand of the government projects in Addis Ababa, which
means when there is a higher demand they will produce material for 24 hours and when the
demand is less they will work normal hour for 8 hours.

Site 2 (Israel Aggregate Production) belongs to the private sector and they have been supplying
their material for different customers, so there is always a higher aggregate demand, they always
work for 24 hours in two shifts and they use more than two crushing plants to meet the demand.
They are always working unless the machine is down for some other reason.

4. Quality control

The quality of the aggregates is tested in every 1000m3 of production on site, they have their
own laboratory on site and in every 10,000m3 of production the sample is taken to central testing
to make sure that the produced aggregates meet all requirements.

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5. Production cost, selling price and efficiency of the plants

Production Cost

production cost/m3
Sn Aggregate type (ETB)
1 00 (passing through 4.75mm sieve) 561.14
2 01 (passing through 9.5mm sieve) 488.82
3 02 (passing through 19mm sieve) 436.13
4 02 (passing through 25 mm sieve) 436.13
Table 1: production cost for different aggregates
Selling Price

Sn Aggregate type Selling Price/m3 (ETB)

1 00 (passing through 4.75mm sieve) $ 1,600.00
2 01 (passing through 9.5mm sieve) $ 1,000.00
3 02 (passing through 19mm sieve) $ 1,500.00
4 Base coarse $ 1,600.00
5 Sub base $ 900.00
Table 2: Selling price for different aggregates
Efficiency of Plants

Rather than additional factors such as particle shape, size distribution and strength of the raw
materials the plants are efficient, which can be expressed in the below formula.

In our case this is between 85 to 90 percent.

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Figure 2: Pictures in AACRA production site

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Figure 3: pictures at Israel Production Company

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4. CONCLUSION
From the visit, we concluded that aggregate production is in its infancy stage and we need to
perform better to meet the demand and we noticed that aggregate production business is a
profitable business if it is managed properly and if it is done with sufficient study starting from
source selection, machine selection and management techniques used. We were also able to see
and understand the whole process of gravel production. The problem that the companies faced,
the market, the demand, etc. Some of the problems faced by the companies are

There is a power cut so they are forced to use generators most of the time. They also face some
bans on the use of explosives due to security reasons, noise pollution and bureaucracy to do it.
We were also able to understand the company's initiative to do some rehabilitation work on the
quarry finished areas like backfilling and planting and also they have used water to reduce the
dust particles going to the neighborhood.

5. RECOMMENDATIONS
Hence there is a huge demand in the market, government aggregate production companies like
ACCRA has to supply their production to the private need, in this case we can reduce the
shortage of material and when we are going to establish this kind of plants it is better to consider
the environment and the people living there and environmental impact assessments have to be
done.

The concerned legal body will have to supervise the production area and should pay due
attention to solve the problems faced by the supplier like provision of constant electricity,
provision of explosive materials.

6. REFERENCES
Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures

Steven H. Kosmatka, Beatrix Kerkhoff, and William C. Panarese

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