Liebherr L 556 - Manual (Page 38)

38 // Quarrying
Reliance and partnership
for safe quarrying
Geocal Mineração quarry is
located about 25 miles away
from the capital of São Paulo.
It was founded in the
municipality of Santana de
Parnaíba. The quarry was set
up by Roberto Zanotto, an
Italian citizen who settled in
Brazil in 1994, the company’s
founding year. Geocal
Mineração handles with the
entire mining process at a
quarry, from the extraction at
the limestone mine to the delivery of by-products such as sand,
crushed stone, concrete and agricultural limestone.
Geocal is a family owned company. It is also part of the Zanotto
Group, with a strong presence in Italy. Roberto Zanotto says that
he grew up near a mine in the Veneto region of Italy. Therefore,
mining is in his blood.
When he chose to bring the Group’s business activities to
Brazil, Roberto Zanotto found a country undergoing a serious
transformation. Brazil went through an economic reform aimed
at controlling the inflation that had paralyzed the country for at
least eight years, with figures higher than 1,000 % a year. Still
under the shade of instability, Roberto Zanotto saw in Brazil a
country of opportunities. “When we arrived in Brazil, we saw a
number of things yet to be done for the country’s development,
such as infrastructure, highways and sanitation. We saw then an
opportunity to participate in this country’s growth. It is now 20
years later and there is still a lot to be done,” says Zanotto.
He purchased the quarry that had been shut down since 1968,
the Cal Matarazzo. Relying on the experience he had acquired
in Italy, Roberto Zanotto got in touch with Liebherr, a reliable
equipment supplier who had excellent references. And this is how
the partnership which has been in place for nearly 20 years was
set up. Zanotto bought the first hydraulic excavator with backhoe
attachment in the country from Liebherr for Geocal Mineração.
It was a Liebherr R 944, bought in 1995. The most common use
of hydraulic excavators at that time in Brazil was the shovel
attachment. Geocal was also the first company to buy a wheel
loader produced in the country, the L 574, predecessor of the
model dedicated to the Brazilian market for quarrying – the L 580.
At the plant located in Santana do Parnaíba, Geocal operates
along the entire limestone production chain. In addition to the
quarry, the company also has three stone crushing plants, one
of them being portable. Stone crusher number 1 focuses on
grinding agricultural limestone and, as a by-product, generates
aggregates for civil construction. Stone crusher 2 produces
sand and also uses the by-product for civil construction. Stone
crusher 3 focuses on quartz production. Altogether, the three
plants have a production capacity of 253,532 tons per month.
The mine limestone provides the quarry with a range of working
possibilities: In addition to being a supplier for civil construction,
Geocal works heavily in agricultural corrective agents, which are
used to correct the acidity of the soil and provide nutrients such
as calcium and magnesium to improve the site. This product
accounts for 50 % of the company’s invoicing.
The company turns over approximately 551,000 tons of material
a month, from limestone to sterile material. The fleet consists of
ten hydraulic excavators, six wheel loaders and 30 off-road
trucks. Almost the entire quarry operation is done with Liebherr
machines: one R 944 B and one R 944 C crawler excavator, four
R 954 C and one R 964 C. Hydraulic excavators are used in
quarrying. Three L 580 wheel loaders and one L 538 wheel loaders
are used for movements at the yard. At this same site, the
company has a Concrevit concrete plant that uses 120 Liebherr
Geocal Mineração was set up
by the Italian citizen Roberto
Zanotto in 1994.
Even as a child, Roberto Zanotto knew that mining was in his blood. 20 years ago he came to Brazil to set up
a site near São Paulo. For his new company, Geocal Mineração , he bought the first hydraulic excavator with
backhoe attachment in the country from Liebherr. Now he looks back on the interesting developments that
have accompanied the enormous growth of the country. The company today turns over 551,000 tons of material
a month, and nearly the entire quarry operation is done with Liebherr machines.
Feature: Geocal Mineração