8| INFORMANTÉ BUSINESS
14 November - 20 November 2013
business
New money security upgraded
Augetto Graig
THE Bank of Namibia (BoN) has warned
that consumers should take note of new security features introduced into South African bank notes by that country’s reserve
bank.
According to BoN spokesman Ndangi Katoma, the new features are dominated by the
addition of dots to the front and back of the
‘Mandela’ bank notes, as the currency featuring founding president Nelson Mandela’s
face is commonly known. The changes were
announced as part of a refresher campaign
launched by that central bank, marking 12
months since the introduction of the notes.
He encouraged Namibian consumers to visit
the South African central bank website for
more information, and to make the ‘look,
feel, tilt’ authenticity check for bank notes a
habit.
South African bank notes have been legal
currency in Namibia since before independence and are likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. Katoma pointed out that not
only is Namibia compensated for this, but the
practice also makes trade with the country’s
biggest trading partner easier. The arrangement is also in line with a bilateral agreement
signed between the two countries, and the
stipulations of the Common Monetary Area
(CMA), to which Namibia is committed.
Meanwhile, new Namibian N$10 and
N$20 bank notes introduced on 17 June have
also now been improved, after three months
of comprehensive testing done by private
companies, Katoma explained. With these
notes two main problems were identified,
specifically the rapid aging of the notes and
the tendency of the diamond-shaped security
feature to crack. Katoma explained that both
these issues have been addressed, with the diamond shape having been moved off the central fold on the money and towards the left.
“As a central bank we continue to constantly
monitor the quality of our currency,” he said.
Regarding the problem of counterfeiting
Namibian money, Katoma set minds at ease
pointing out that the country experiences a
very low rate of this type of crime. Despite
international benchmark of 50 counterfeit
units per million in all denominations, Namibia boasts only six units per million in all
denominations, Katoma said. He added that
the bank continues to engage and train lawenforcement agencies to ensure this type of
crime does not escalate in Namibia, as well
as to train bank tellers and people who work
with cash to determine cases of counterfeiting as soon as possible.
(Used with the authority of BoN)
Concor builts Tsumeb acid plant
Staff Reporter
/3849
ACID PLANT DREAMS: Here is a conceptual view of a portion of the sulphuric acid plant
being built at the Tsumeb Smelter.
Photo contributed
CONCOR Engineering, a Murray & Roberts company, has
been appointed to undertake
structural, engineering and
civil work at the new sulphuric
acid plant at Dundee Precious
Metals’ smelter in Tsumeb, the
first phase of the N$2,4 billion
project.
Concor’s scope of work covers
erection of all structural steelwork, fabrication of tanks, installation of mechanical plate-work
and piping, and some civils infrastructure for the acid plant. Concor Engineering is subcontracting to world-renowned Finnish
engineering firm Outotec for the
first phase of the project, which
includes basic engineering, site
preparation, final costing and
detailed scheduling. Site establishment has been completed and
plant construction has already
begun.
The smelter, owned and operated by Dundee Precious Metals Tsumeb, processes copper
concentrates on a toll-treatment
basis. A total of 6 900 tonnes of
steelwork will be erected on site.
Of this, 2 500 tonnes will be structural steelwork, 600 tonnes will
be tank work, and 3 800 tonnes
will be used for mechanicals, piping, plate-work and ducting.
Construction of the gas-cleaning system and acid plant will enable Dundee to convert off-gases
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from its furnaces into commercial sulphuric acid. Based on an
expected throughput of 240 000310 000 tonnes of concentrate
yearly, the acid plant will produce
approximately 270 000-340 000
tonnes of sulphuric acid per annum. This not only will produce
downstream revenue for DPMT,
but also will improve working
conditions at the smelter, and
living conditions in the Tsumeb
community as a result of reduced
emissions, the company said.
The Namibian government
has directed Dundee to bring the
smelter in line with international
environmental standards. Project
completion is scheduled for the
end of 2014.