AFRICA news
Algerian Minister of Industry and Mining Abdesslam Bouchouareb has inaugurated the second production unit of the Ain El Kebira cement plant in Setif, which falls under the Algerian public industrial cement group, Groupe Industriel des Ciments d’ Algérie( GICA). According to the minister, the unit’ s two million tonne annual production capacity, together with the 1.5 million tonnes per year from the Adrar cement plant and the two million tonnes per year of the Chlef plants( which are due to be commissioned by April and October 2017, respectively), will allow Algeria to reach selfsufficiency in cement production. He added that Algeria would be able to export the surplus by early 2018.
The price of cement in northern Cameroon has reportedly dropped by 20 %, from USD5.70 to USD4.56 per 50kg bag, due to the alleged smuggling of Dangote-branded cement across the border from Nigeria. According to Business in Cameroon, the importing of cement into Cameroon was banned following the commissioning of three new cement production units in the country. The illegal importing of cement from the neighbouring Nigeria has resulted in the price of a 50kg bag of Dangote cement in the north of the country being between 30 and 40 % cheaper than the same bag in the south.
LafargeHolcim subsidiary Hima Cement has commenced construction of a cement grinding station in Tororo, eastern Uganda, according to a report in Uganda’ s The Observer newspaper. The USD40-million grinding station is expected to more than double the company’ s current annual production capacity, from 900 000 tonnes to 1.9 million tonnes, when it starts production in mid- 2018. The plant aims to meet demand from local infrastructure projects, including the Karuma Power Dam Project, to which Hima Cement has been supplying cement through a third party. The company is expected to be awarded a contract to supply cement to Karuma directly this year.
Multotec builds capacity in Africa
Mineral processing solutions provider Multotec, which has grown its African footprint over almost two decades, puts its success down to developing local capacity— including skills and infrastructure— as close to the customer as possible, to allow quick and effective response.
“ We prioritise skills transfer and capacity-building in our African facilities, and also train our customers’ staff in the maintenance of our equipment,” says Multotec CEO, Thomas Holtz.
“ It is becoming increasingly important— both to us as suppliers and to our customers, the mines— to invest in local skills development as a key sustainability practice.”
For years Multotec has provided training in process-related topics in South Africa, and recently rolled this out in a more formal and structured manner to other regions. Today, the group’ s equipment can be found in almost 50 countries on six continents. According to Holtz, the training focuses on bridging the gap between the theory learnt in tertiary studies and the practical day-to-day mechanics of working with equipment in a plant environment.“ Where we can build local capacity to support our products the customers appreciate it— and we’ ve seen growing interest in this training over the past two to three years.”
According to Multotec Africa managing director Jaco du Toit, the cradle-to-grave concept ensures compliance with the
Mines ISO 14000 environmental management standards, where the group provides the equipment, technical expertise and maintenance, as well as the removal and recycling of the product at the end of its life.
With Multotec’ s growing support network and range of products, customers are increasingly engaging the company on contracts to take over on-site equipment maintenance, aligned to servicelevel agreements.
Multotec
Multotec offers training that is focused on bridging the gap between theoretical studies and the practical mechanics of working with equipment in a plant environment.
QUARRY SA | march 2017 _ 9