Geological Society of TT
"A missed opportunity.” This is how quarrying has been characterised in the TT Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative’s (TTEITI) State of the Extractive Sectors 2021 Report. This statement and others made therein, sound a crescendo in the symphony of negative publicity surrounding the industry in past decades.
While it may seem that quarrying is not a prominent feature impacting the nation or the day-to-day goings-on of Trinbagonians, many of the comforts and lamentations that we experience tie into the sector – think paved or unpaved roads, reasonably priced building materials or having a beer with friends. Perhaps the indifference stems from the fact that the oil and gas sector has been, and continues to be, the primary revenue-generating extractive industry of TT, dwarfing the minerals sector in both scope and scale.
The CSO’s 2007 Report on Environmental Statistics set out that the combined construction and quarrying industry accounted for approximately $22.5 billion of GDP in the five-year period between 2000 and 2004, or 7.5 per cent of GDP generated for the same period. This made it the fourth highest in that period behind petroleum, distribution and finance/insurance/real estate.
More recent figures, from 2012-2021, show a steady decline in yearly contributions of the combined sector. The TTEITI report highlighted losses due to unpaid royalties of an estimated $193 million spanning from as far back as 2005. Further estimates indicate that over $800 million may be owed to the government in taxes and other revenue.
While statistics show that other sectors generate more direct revenue, it would be remiss to consider this the sole measurement of the industry’s importance. A more nuanced assessment can shed light on the socio-economic stimulation rooted in the construction and building materials manufacturing sectors, which rely heavily on raw material inputs derived from quarrying.
To this end, it is necessary to highlight the far-reaching and integrative scope of participants in the minerals sector tasked with carrying out said quarrying activities. Areas such as mineral exploration, mineral exploitation (mining or quarrying), mineral processing, the manufacturing of mineral-based products, mineral trading (import and export), transportation and machinery (supply, sales and other services), land management (including land rehabilitation) and other professional services such as consulting, management, accounting, surveying, geological, engineering, legal and financial, which are all crucial to the sector’s overall functioning.
Which begs the question, what is quarried in TT and what is it used for? As for active quarrying, in Trinidad's Northern Range, "blue" limestone of the Maracas and Maraval formations are blasted and extracted for use in various applications such as concrete, cement, cement blocks, agricultural lime, shoreline defence, roadworks, landscaping, and architectural deco-stone.
Terrace sediments, a term referring to the naturally occurring interb
