Construction World May 2016

PROJECT PROFILE

ABOVE: A total of 8 000 m 3 of concrete was poured in six months. RIGHT: Some 770 t of reinforcement bar was used in the construction of the forecourt. Pours were undertaken during the winter months of 2015, with temperatures starting at zero degrees Celsius in the morning and gradually building up to 30 degrees Celsius in the afternoons, before cooling down. At times, the concrete crews would start pouring at 7:00 in the morning with shifts varying from nine to 12 hours. “We had to come up with a suitable concrete mix to overcome this, and relied heavily on extenders to keep the material workable at all times,” he says, adding that crews also had to be wary of excessive cracking due to the extreme temperature fluctuations. Smaller concrete structures tackled by Murray & Roberts Infrastructure as part of the total works package included silt traps, a conservancy tank, pipe support foundation plinths, storm water channel and high-light mast foundations, as well as a number of slabs for the process water and potable water tanks, nitrogen supply and fire water. Ready to move The contractor started demobilising from the site in November 2015, after handing over to the other contractors to complete the steel fabrication, as well as electrical and mechan- ical components of the infrastructure. Krugel and many other members of the Murray & Roberts Infrastructure team have been stationed in the Northern Cape since 2005, when the company became involved at Sishen mine as a subcontractor on a large infrastructure project there.

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structure’s impressive track-record at these mines has given it a significant competitive edge. It not only has a formidable presence in the province, but the entire team has a thor- ough understanding of the complex working environment, where productivity and safety are overriding factors. He points out that the project achieved the company’s overall safety objective of Zero Harm in that no lost time injury was experienced. Jerome Govender, executive chairman of Murray & Roberts Construction, says that it therefore stands to reason that once mining activity picks up again, which it certainly will, Murray & Roberts Infrastructure will be called on again by these major players in the iron ore and manganese sectors to help them prepare for the upturn.

Here, the contractor also later participated in the massive Sishen Expansion Project where it undertook the civils for the primary crusher. Its strong relationship with the South African mining giant, Kumba also saw it clinch contracts at Kolomela mine. It also secured contracts at Assmang’s Khumani mine where it was involved in a myriad of infrastructure delivery programmes during the three phases of expansion there. Included in the company’s impressive portfolio of projects in the iron ore and manganese mining province of South Africa is the work it has undertaken at Assmang’s Beeshoek mine. In 2012, it was tasked with rerouting a section of national road to allow for expan- sion of the mining pit. Krugel says that Murray & Roberts Infra-

CONSTRUCTION WORLD MAY 2016