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