Modern Quarrying Jan-Feb 2018

SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT POTLIGHT ON BRICKMAKING FACE TO FACE WITH GKC

upgrading of 35 km of road between the Birah River and the Openshaw Village on the R72. To date H&I has constructed 25 bypasses (ranging from 120 m to 1 200 m) for the accommodation of traffic and therefore could only start building main road layer works in November last year. Estimated final roadwork quantities are as follows:

working tirelessly in the least ideal condi- tions on a construction site, GKC would not be able to do what we do.” Talking further about H&I’s business, Tait says the Cape-based construction company was founded in 1984. “It is a leading independent contractor oper- ating throughout South Africa, and has recently expanded its focus to include certain SADC countries. “With GKC being responsible for ful- filling H&I’s significant plant and crusher equipment requirements, we are able to ensure that H&I has the capacity to tackle large road construction projects, often in remote areas. “About two years ago, we had eight mobile plants running but we have down- scaled slightly and also moved into the commercial sector,” he tells MQ. “We have two projects in Umtata that are crushing commercially for one of our sites and we are also going to crush commercially in KingWilliamstown. We are hoping to start up another crushing plant in Botswana close to the border and this will be our fourth commercial plant.” Some of the projects underway include: Birah GKC is crushing for the Birah project on the R72 between Port Alfred and East London. The H&I contract started in November 2016 and is due for completion in April 2020. The contract consists of the

Triamic’s Libode site with concrete aggregates. On average, the plant produces 10 000 t of aggregates, which are sold to the local communi- ties. The foreman is Carlo Dyason, and both quarries are managed by Morne Petrus in terms of technical and client issues. Ben Jankie is GKC’s administra- tor for both quarries. • Majola Tea Quarry: Crushing for the Majola Tea project has been com- pleted (308 590 t) and GKC is currently crushing for the Libode II project from the same quarry (119 303 t). On com- pletion, the plant would have crushed 426 893 t and it is envisaged that all crushing will be completed shortly. The foreman is Ben Burger. • Jeppe’s Reef Quarry: Crushing was completed in June 2017 (609 190 t) and the plant is currently undergoing a comprehensive maintenance before the next project. The foreman is Henry Jafta. • Hamburg Quarry: Establishment of the two crushing plants started in October 2016 and the plants were commissioned in March 2017. These plants are supplying the Birah proj- ect with crushed material and to date have crushed 224 762 t of the required 1 321 067 t. This is by far the largest crushing project undertaken by GKC, and is scheduled for comple- tion in August 2019. The foreman is Jaco Hanekom. • Rheebok Quarry: Establishment of the crushing plant commenced in February 2017 and the plant was commissioned in June last year. The plant is situated in AfriSam’s Rheebok Quarry and is supplying crushed G1 and G5 for the Abbotsdale and Hopefield projects, along with occa- sionally assisting AfriSam by crush- ing G2 and G5 for its commercial clients. To date the plant has crushed 134 342 t of the required 644 543 t. The crushing project must be com- pleted in April 2019. Du Randt says that the foremen listed above are only some of the key peo- ple involved in completing a successful crushing operation. “Management would also like to acknowledge each and every employee not mentioned here, who have contributed to the projects. Without them

Fill: ± 300 000 m 3 SSG: ± 190 000 m 3

Subbase: ± 180 000 m 3 Basecourse: ± 87 000 m 3 Surfacing: ± 515 000 m 3

Kalbaskraal This project is located on the N7 Section 1 between Atlantis South (26,3 km) and Kalbaskraal (39,1 km) north of Cape Town. The project comprises the construction of a new carriageway and the upgrading of the existing carriageway for the N7 over a length of about 12,8 km, between the new Atlantis South / Philadelphia Interchange on the southern limit and north limit just north of Kalbaskraal rail line crossing. Abbotsdale The contract commenced on 9 January 2017 and has a contract period of 36 months. Establishment of the two crushing plants at Hamburg Quarry were commissioned in March 2017. By far the biggest crushing project ever undertaken by GKC, these plants are supplying the Birah project with crushed material.

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MODERN QUARRYING

Quarter 1 / 2018