The limestone crusher building, the last of the large concrete structures to be constructed at cement producer Sephaku Cement’s Aganang cement production facility near Lichtenburg, in the North West, was far advanced and progressing as required, the company reported last month.

“The structural steel erection work is continuing in all areas. The space frame structures over the three raw-material stockpile areas are well advanced, with the limestone storage area structure already sheeted,” says Sephaku Cement engineering project manager Heinrich de Beer.

Sephaku Cement’s Aganang operations will include limestone mining and the chemical processing of raw materials to produce clinker.

Aganang will be a state-of-the-art producer of 6 000 t of clinker a day and 1.2-million tons of cement a year. With storage volumes of 50 000 t, its clinker silo will be one of the largest single clinker storage bunkers in South Africa and its kiln the biggest single kiln in the country, Sephaku Cement states.

The company adds that the majority of the large civil structures at the Aganang plant, of which construction started late 2011, are complete and that the remaining civil work is progressing well.

In December last year, Sephaku Cement CEO Pieter Fourie told Mining Weekly that the company planned to start producing at the end of this year.

“Commissioning will start in October; however, after production has started, there will be another three-month test period, during which the guaranteed outputs, such as fuel consumption, emissions and coal consumption, will be evaluated,” Fourie said.

“Since January, rapid progress has been made on the raw-material proportioning station (RMPS), the cement proportioning station (CPS), the preheater structure, the grate cooler area, the kiln area, the cement packing plant area, the limestone crushing area, the clinker silo roof structure and the plantwide conveyor gantry structures,” De Beer highlights.
In addition, the preassembly and erection of the coal mill, the raw mill and the clinker mill have started. The erection of the raw mill is well advanced, with the main drive gearbox of 95 t, the hydraulic cylinders and the mill roller rocker arms already installed. Assembly of the raw mill, the coal mill and the clinker mill baghouses onto the concrete superstructures is on track.
“Meanwhile, mechanical equipment assembly work has started, with solid progress being made on the stacker and reclaimer machines located in the limestone, gypsum, additives and coal storage areas. Electrical cable racking installation has also begun throughout the plant, with exceptional progress being made at the RMPS, CPS, and the preheater/kiln area as well as inside the many conveyor gantries already erected,” De Beer concludes.