The SINCERT/ICMQ Technical Committee has granted the ISO 14001 environmental certification and the OHSAS 18001 certification to the three limestone and slate quarries that provide the raw materials to the Robilante cement plant.
The limestone quarry in the Ciapelaruta-Monfranco district in Roaschia has obtained certificates n. 03037, according to UNI EN ISO 14001, and n. 03008S, in conformity with the OHSAS 18001 standard (Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series), awards that should be added to the positive assessment of environmental compatibility on the twenty-year project and to the renewal of the mining authorization by the local government of Roaschia. The mining activities in this quarry were begun in 1965 and, today, cover an area of approximately 80 hectares, of which 36 are already subject to environmental recovery. The annual production capacity is of 800-900,000 m3 of limestone, which is crushed and transferred to the Robilante cement plant by means of a belt that runs for 6 kilometers through a tunnel, thus minimizing the impact on the local road system. The mining is performed using the method of descending horizontal slices and simultaneous environmental recovery.
The slate quarries, in the Tetto Noisa district, in Roccavione, and the Gavota district, between Robilante and Roccavione, have been awarded, respectively, certificated n. 03038 and 03039 UNI EN ISO 14001 and n. 03010S, according to the OHSAS 18001 standard. These two quarries are located, one in front of the other, on the right bank of the Vermenagna stream, and are connected to the cement plant with a conveyor belt approximately 500 meters long. The raw material therein extracted, slate, is the second component in the formation of the mixture that gives rise to the meal for cement.