Construction World May 2022

QUARRYING

The oversized parts of the aggregate get sent back to a 36 inch Osborn crusher. The G5 is deposited onto a stockpile while G2 material goes through a vertical shaft impact crusher and then to the stockpile.

UPGRADES INCREASE QUARRY’S CAPACITY,

EFFICIENCY AND AVAILABILITY

AfriSam’s Pietermaritzburg Quarry (PMB Quarry) provides a diverse portfolio of aggregate products that are suitable for readymix, asphalt, civils, road building and concrete product manufacturing in the construction sector. The operation’s material output is currently vital to key infrastructural improvements in the area which include the upgrades to the N3, municipal roads, and various building projects. ConstructionWorld visited the facility to learn about upgrades that will lead to optimised operations and the ability to step up production when the construction industry fully recovers.

AfriSam in KwaZulu-Natal AfriSam is a supplier of superior quality construction materials and technical solutions optimising the use of cement, aggregate and readymix concrete. For AfriSam, the aggregate and readymix markets in KwaZulu-Natal have done well from a volume perspective considering the volatility over the last three years. In addition to the infrastructural national and municipal road projects that the PMB Quarry supplies with base and sub-base material, it has supplied readymix and other products to the Midlands Mall upgrade, the Brookside Mall and Southgate complex developments, housing in surrounding rural areas, the Durban University of Technology with its related student housing and various bridge projects. Benefitting the community “It is important for us as AfriSam to invest in the development of communities surrounding our operations,”

says Ernest Sebeelo, Works Manager at AfriSam’s PMB quarry. As such the PMB Quarry has contributed to education by establishing a school, provided the community with a computer and science laboratory, and is in the municipal approval stage to develop a library in partnership with the municipality and its external funders. The quarry also provides opportunities to people from the informal settlement to its southwest. This includes the removal of alien plants, site cleaning and some security,” says Sebeelo. Quarrying in a fast developing area The AfriSam supply channel in KwaZulu-Natal is divided into two areas: coastal around Durban, and the Midlands (where the PMB Quarry is located). The PMB Quarry is in the Msunduzi local municipality, located to the northeast of the city. Established in 1946, the quarry has a Life of Mine of 100 years and provides employment to 27 direct

32 CONSTRUCTION WORLD MAY 2022