Cement producer AfriSam has been awarded a contract by construction and engineering group Group Five to supply 17 650 m3 of readymix concrete for the construction of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital, in Parktown, Johannesburg.

AfriSam multiproducts solutions account manager Graham Hannah says this provides a good opportunity for AfriSam to contribute to the lasting legacy of the late Nelson Mandela. “The establishment of this nonprofit hospital was a personal dream of Mandela and, once completed, will be one of only four such hospitals on the African continent.”

Construction started on June 23, following the successful completion of bulk earthworks and piling on site.

Planned to open its doors in 2016, the 200-bed specialist paediatric hospital will provide services in the fields of haematology/oncology, pulmonology, cardiology, neurosciences, nephrology and craniofacial and general paediatric surgery.

The hospital will be located adjacent to the University of Witwatersrand (Wits) Medical School and is in close proximity to other medical facilities to allow Wits Medical School paediatric academic teaching access to increase operational efficiencies and staffing models.

The hospital will employ about 150 doctors and 451 paediatric nursing professionals in addition to allied services.

Group Five’s appointment as main contractor by the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital Trust (NMCHT) followed a selection process adjudicated by project management company SIP project managers in conjunction with Mbatha, Walters & Simpson consultancy. “This represents a key milestone in our efforts to make Mandela’s last wish to build a children’s hospital in South Africa a reality,” says NMCHT deputy chairperson Nana Magomola.

Reducing Energy Consumption
In other news, AfriSam is also undertaking a campaign to achieve exponential energy savings, which has led to the implementation of a series of focused initiatives.

These initiatives have resulted in the company reducing its energy intensity by 12%, well in advance of the National Energy Efficiency Strategy’s 2015 deadline to achieve this target.

The main factor behind this achievement has been the introduction of the company’s advanced composite cements, which harness by-products from the steel manufacturing and coal-fired power station industries, together with chemical activators, to improve the characteristics and performance of traditional Portland cement.

Besides lowering the clinker factor, advanced composite cements use only half the amount of thermal energy required by conventional cements.

AfriSam’s Project Green Cement was launched in 2000, primarily aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions and, since then, the company has moved away from the pure Cem 1 Portland cements to embrace advanced composite cements.

Currently, energy is AfriSam’s priority cost reduction initiative and the company has adopted a holistic approach to energy savings to ensure steady improvements in the four primary focus areas of thermal, electrical, transport and explosives.

Coal and electrical energy are by far the company’s biggest costs in cement production, with the fuel costs associated with transport logistics a not-too-
distant third.

AfriSam’s strategic projects manager Gavin Venter says that to reduce AfriSam’s electricity use, the company has adopted a philosophy that all its future mills will incorporate electrically efficient vertical roller mill technology. “A notable success in this area was the installation of a vertical roller mill at our Roodepoort operation in 2008. Although this mill was commissioned at a 20% higher cost than conventional technology, it has since achieved a 24% reduction in electrical energy consumption.”

Vertical roller mills are also being earmarked for installation at AfriSam’s new Saldanha and Coega facilities.