Road Metals is a South Island based quarrying and transport company operating from Kaikōura through to Central Otago. The business produces a wide range of aggregates and construction materials, supporting infrastructure, roading and development projects across the region.
The company operates multiple sites across Canterbury, along with operations in Oamaru and Central Otago. One of its key locations is the Rolleston quarry, established around 12 years ago to support the rapid growth of the Selwyn district.
The Rolleston quarry was originally developed to meet increasing demand driven by expansion in the Selwyn region. As development has continued, Road Metals has invested in additional land nearby to ensure the site can keep up with production requirements.
Material is extracted from the quarry face and transported to the processing plant. Today the face sits roughly one kilometre away from the plant, which created challenges for traditional truck haulage.
To improve efficiency, Road Metals installed a conveyor-based material handling system. A 1.1 km Superior conveyor carries raw material from the face to the plant, where it feeds into a Telestacker that builds stockpiles ready for processing.
From there, the plant produces a range of materials including basecourse, sand, aggregates, asphalt chips and crusher dust used across construction and infrastructure projects.
Before the conveyor system was installed, three dump trucks were operating continuously to move raw material to the plant. As the quarry face moved further away, additional trucks and operators would have been required.
With the conveyor and Telestacker in place, material handling is largely automated. Operators can feed the plant at the push of a button, keeping material moving consistently while reducing labour and truck movements on site.
Road Metals has continued to invest in expanding the system. MIMICO supplied an additional 300 metres of conveyor to extend the material handling setup, and a second Telestacker has been purchased to manage top course products as production grows.
The upgrades form part of a broader effort to improve efficiency, simplify operations and support increasing demand from the surrounding region.
The conveyor system currently moves around 600 tonnes per hour, providing a steady and reliable feed into the plant. This capacity replaces what would otherwise require multiple dump trucks running continuously between the face and processing area.
For the Rolleston operation, the conveyor-fed system provides a scalable solution that keeps production moving efficiently while reducing reliance on truck haulage.
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