P&Q sat down with GeoLogic’s Benjamin Black earlier this year to discuss 2024 from a business standpoint and what he expects to unfold during the rest of this year. Black also addressed how outsiders perceive the aggregate industry – and more.
For those who aren’t aware, what does GeoLogic do?
We are a geological and mining engineering and planning company. Primarily, we work on the front end – new projects, greenfield sites. Some of our projects are actually brownfield [sites] where historical mining has been going on, and they’re looking at a mining expansion.
We also get involved in environmental aspects such as permitting and rezoning. We have in-house laboratory services. We can do all kinds of rock testing for aggregates and rock mechanics.
What are your thoughts on how the industry is working to change its perception from outsiders? What do you think is working, and where could more be done?
I’m the one who typically goes to planning and zoning meetings with some of the materials our team members or clients have prepared. The negative perception is real. I like to say: ‘People don’t know what they don’t know.’ If they hear ‘we’re getting a quarry’ or ‘a quarry wants to come in my backyard,’ [there is a mindset of] ‘not in my backyard.’ These folks show up [to meetings], and they’re already apprehensive to begin with.
One of the things I strongly advocate for when a client comes to us – whether it’s a large producer or a new producer that’s getting ready to start an operation – is community outreach. [Doing that] upfront is the way to go.
We’ve worked with some people who were looking at starting a quarry. They didn’t do much community outreach, and it blew up in their face. [We also worked with a larger producer], and they were very big about community outreach. They had public information meetings, came up with renderings and drawings of what it was going to look like, what the operations were going to be, and that really helped allay a lot of the fears that the community members had.
What does the future hold for quarry development?
I see there needing to be more quarries. The infrastructure required is going to demand it. The more companies can do to get ahead of the curve on these things, it’s going to go a long way.
Over the next five to 10 years, there’s going to be an explosion of new quarries all around the country.
How was the first quarter of 2024? What do you expect for the rest of the year?
The end of the first quarter and [start of] the second quarter is going to be strong. We got a few contracts recently, and I feel like it’s going to continue to grow throughout the year.
Over the next three to five years, it’s going to continue to grow at that pace. Of course, we’re still a really young company. We’ve only been in business six years. So, we’re still very much getting our foot in the door of a lot of these big producers.
Related: Drilling Deeper Episode 16: Mine permitting, water management, screening and more
