Industry intelligence
Construction at Gamsberg forges ahead
Left: The scope of works included the civils component of the flotation plant, as
well as infrastructure in the milling zone and the thickener area.
Above: M&D’s Roads and Earthworks division was awarded the contract to
construct the external roads as well as the access roads and parking from the
N14 highway to the entrance of the mine.
Vedanta Zinc International has recently installed
a concentrator at its Gamsberg project, close
to the town of Aggeneys in the Northern
Cape. Gamsberg is part of the South African
zinc group’s Black Mountain Mining (BMM)
operations, also in the Northern Cape. Gamsberg
will exploit one of the largest known, undeveloped
orebodies in the world, mining more than four
million tons (t) of ore annually from an open pit
and producing 250 000t of zinc-in-concentrate a
year at the new concentrator plant during the first
phase of operations.
M&D Construction Group’s Civil
Engineering division played a large role
in assisting Vedanta and its engineering,
procurement and construction (EPC) contractor,
ELB Engineering Services, to deliver Gamsberg’s
concentrator in an extremely short time frame to
ensure that a high global demand for zinc is met
in time.
M&D’s contract was extended in August 2018
to include the construction of the internal
plant roads. The construction forges ahead as
planned.
The construction of the internal roads includes
access roads and parking from the N14 highway
between Pofadder and Aggeneys to the entrance
of the mine. This is in addition to various roads
and parking areas along the perimeter of and
within the plant area.
Contractor builds up heat tolerance at Venetia
De Beers Consolidated Mines’ flagship
Venetia Mine in the Limpopo province
is currently developing an underground
operation aimed at extending the life of
South Africa’s largest diamond producer.
The Venetia Underground Project
(VUP) intends to extend the life cycle of
the mine by about 25 years and consists of
sinking a service, production, and decline
shaft; developing the required underground
infrastructure to mine the K01 and K02 ore
bodies; and surface infrastructure including
offices, lamp room, control room, change
houses, refrigeration plant, bulk air cooler,
ventilation fans, and winder houses.
Project delivery company WorleyParsons
has been involved in the VUP since feasibility
stage and was commissioned to execute the
detailed engineering design for both the
surface and underground infrastructure for
the new underground mine.
In 2016, WorleyParsons was awarded the
engineering, procurement and construction
management (EPCM) contract for the VUP.
[6] MINING MIRROR JANUARY 2019
Johan Swart, commercial manager at
WorleyParsons, explains that one of the
mine’s critical health and safety regulations is
to assess the fitness of individuals that have
to work in the mine’s harsh underground
conditions. “To ensure a person is fit enough
to handle these conditions, they must
undergo strict testing, which involves a heat
tolerance test as well as various functional
fitness tests. The heat tolerance test is
performed in a chamber that mimics the
heated underground conditions. This requires
the construction of a building that will house
the heat testing chamber, as well as various
functional testing rooms. Together, these form
the heat tolerance testing (HTTS) building,”
says Swart.
The HTTS project was identified
as an opportunity to collaborate with a
local contractor as part of its sustainable
development goals (SDGs), as the project
requires a broad range of skills development.
Skills development is essential to ensure that
the community in the surrounding areas
have a sustainable future for the families and
future generations.
Following a full and fair enquiry process
conducted by WorleyParsons in which
various contractors submitted their bids for
the scope of work, the contract was awarded
to Ravhuyani Construction and Projects
on 29 June 2018. The project entails a full
construction and management team that will
be required to deliver a timely constructed
building within budget.
Ravhuyani Construction and Projects
will be fulfilling all the construction work
to erect the building, together with the
services and landscaping in the area. As
part of the project, the contractor will be
required to compile a construction schedule;
manage subcontractors; develop health,
safety, quality, and environmental plans; and
ensure the project is completed, adhering
to all standards within the allocated
time. The contractor will be supported by
WorleyParsons construction manager Neels
Wolmarans and his team.
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