Modern Mining August 2018

COVER STORY

ELB demonstrates its skills on two ‘flagship’ projects

One of South Africa’s most respected providers of mineral processing and bulk materials handling solutions, ELB Engineering Services (ELB), part of the JSE-listed ELB Group Limited, is now approaching the completion of two major projects which have demonstrated its ability to successfully execute challenging assignments notable for their size and technical sophistication. Modern Mining recently spoke to ELB’s CEO, Dr Stephen Meijers, about the company’s achievements and its strategies for ensuring continued growth in the future.

T he two projects are Vedanta Zinc International’s Gamsberg project near Aggeneys in the Northern Cape, now commissioning, and the materials handling component of Eskom’s giant ‘new generation’ Medupi Power Station in Limpopo Province, which ELB ex- pects to complete in the first quarter of 2019. Commenting on Gamsberg, Meijers says the company’s scope of work has included not only the 4 Mt/a zinc concentrator plant, which is one

of the most advanced of its type in the world, but also the design and construction of a 40 km long water supply pipeline which brings water to the Gamsberg site from the Orange River, as well as the project’s power infrastructure. ELB won the contract – structured as three sepa- rate work packages – in late 2016 in the face of intense competition from both local and inter- national competitors. “The front end ore crushing, handling and stockpiling system was commissioned

The Gamsberg zinc project near Aggeneys in the Northern Cape. This has been a flagship contract for ELB over the past 20 months.

18  MODERN MINING  August 2018