Each year the Aggregate and Quarry Association of NZ and the Institute of Quarrying NZ hold an annual joint conference.

The IOQ is a professional institute and its membership is open to individuals in a position of responsibility who have appropriate qualifications and/or experience employed in, or supplying to, the surface mineral extractive and processing industries.

The AQA was formed in response to the need for an industry group that could represent aggregate companies on a range of issues, as well as liaise with specifiers and end users of the materials. Membership has widened to include, for instance, lime suppliers, and stands at over 80 companies, which between them produce 85% of the aggregates and allied raw materials used in New Zealand.

The conference is an opportunity for all those involved in the quarrying industry to interact and exchange ideas, take the opportunity to hear the experiences of guest speakers and to socialise with old friends and colleagues and to make new contacts.