The Civil Engineering Contractor May 2019 | Page 11

CONTRACTORS ON SITE
Ancuabe Graphite
Project, Mozambique
Cape Town International Airport.
Cape Town International
Airport (CTIA)
A large number of tenders have been put on the market in
respect of CTIA in the Western Cape:
• Precinct 1 civils and building works for a hotel and
conference centre. This involves construction of the
bulk earthworks, civils, services, and infrastructure for
a 160-bed hotel and conference centre on 14 400m 2 .
This has been amended, as the tender that was previously
issued was for a private developer and not a contractor.
CTIA has invited interested parties to submit proposals
for the design, development, and operation of a hotel
and conference centre at the airport. Construction
of the hotel is expected to start in January next year.
To qualify for this project, developers would have to
have completed hotels in excess of 250 rooms, while
operators needed a minimum of five years’ experience.
According to the CTIA, interested hotel brands have
to have in excess of 300 rooms currently under their
management.
• Construction of commercial facilities, on a 4 700m² site
at the CTIA Office Park Phase 2.
• Construction of industrial and warehousing facilities on
a 16 200m² site at Precinct 2.
• Construction of industrial and warehousing facilities on
a 144 000m² site in Precinct 3.
• A new runway is expected to be built, which will realign
the existing runway to 3 500m at an estimated value of
R3.9-million. The Department of Environmental Affairs
(DEA) had granted final approval for the building of the
airport’s new, realigned runway, which will allow for
some of the world’s largest aircraft to land and take off.
The project, set to start next year, will involve extending
the primary runway to 3 500m, which will allow for
larger Code F aircraft such as the Airbus 380 to land
safely. Construction is expected to take 24 to 30 months
to complete. nn
www.civilsonline.co.za
The Ancuabe project is located in a wold-class
graphite province, approximately 60km west from
Pemba, in northern Mozambique. It has access
to existing roads, rail, and port infrastructure.
The logistical advantages of the Ancuabe project
and support from the Mozambican government
distinguish Ancuabe from other graphite projects
in Africa.
Triton Minerals tenement holding surrounds the
historic Ancuabe Mine. Very large flake graphite
sourced from Ancuabe may provide Triton the
ability to produce a wide size range of high-
quality graphite concentrates to cater for a variety
of end-user requirements. Further, the Ancuabe
project could position Triton to take advantage
of the expected future increase in demand for
jumbo and large flake graphite. The project has a
preproduction capital cost of USD99.4-million,
including contingency.
Triton Minerals has struck a memorandum
of understanding (MoU) with China’s Qingdao
Jinhui Graphite Company that could result in the
development of the Ancuabe graphite project, in
Mozambique. The two companies will now start
technical, legal, and commercial due diligence
and continue negotiations to execute a binding
agreement within the next six months. This MoU is
complementary to Triton’s financing discussions in
China, which are progressing well.
Triton Minerals is a step closer to locking-in the
finance required to develop its Ancuabe graphite
project in Mozambique after bagging a MoU with
China’s largest building materials group. China
National Building Material Group’s subsidiary
Suzhou Sinoma Design and Research Institute of
Non-metallic Minerals Industry will work alongside
Triton and MCC International Incorporation to
optimise Ancuabe’s flowsheet and secure financing
to develop the asset. Additionally, Suzhou Sinoma
will provide technical consulting services to Triton
regarding plant equipment, construction, and
commissioning of the project, as well as assisting
with graphite product quality control.
Triton Minerals has been given a provisional
environmental licence for its Ancuabe project.
The granting of the provisional environmental
licence was a precursor for the receipt of the
final environmental licence, which completed the
environmental approvals process. nn
CEC May 2019 | 9