Modern Quarrying October-November 2015

ON THE COVER

Panoramic view of the Pemba plant which has been upgraded with components from Afrimat and developed into a 150 t/hour crushing unit. Afrimat has duplicated a similar 250 t/hour plant, which is due for commissioning shortly. Ultimately Pemba will soon have a 400 t/hour capacity.

our springboard and basis for offer- ing whatever ser- vices are required in the nor th of Mozambique. We have consciously not entered into the more popu- lar southern areas like Maputo as these have been overtraded by the Chinese and other entities,” Odendaal says. “Afrimat fol- lows a strategy of identifying a dis- tinct advantage when entering into new areas and this is either that we are the first or only sup- plier or that we pro- vide a product that is distinctive and not readily avail- able. We are trying to service that crite- rion in our strategy and we believe that we have got it right so far. “We are currently involved with tenders on mega projects like the LNG and also others related to the ports; there are other construction port efforts that are not necessarily related and also mining infrastructure.” He says that Mozambique is either underde- veloped or neglected. Mining-related activities are

on the Afungi Peninsula in Cabo Delgado prov- ince. This is a first-of-its-kind LNG facility on the east coast of Africa. The independently-certified proven reserves are sufficient to support two initial LNG trains, each with a capacity of 6 Mtpa, as well as to accommodate expansions, including multiple additional trains capable of producing some 50 Mt of LNG per annum in future years. Mozambique has been described as the third-largest natural gas holder in Africa, after Nigeria and Algeria. “What we learnt four years ago was that if you are not there, you are not considered seriously. Afrimat has taken a leap of faith in securing a solid partnership agreement with a local business entity in Pemba, and we now have access to various quarry resources. We have never reneged on our strategy that we would do this on a partnership basis, and we now have a local partner as well as other strategic partners,” Odendaal tells MQ . Afrimat has established an up-and-running operation at Pemba, which is south of the main LNG project and is busy looking at including readymix and possibly precast. It will be able to supply a complete offering to this project once it kicks off. “We have invested a lot of effort and money into getting these resources because on the Mozambican coast, the first 80-90 km hasn’t got rock. It’s not like South Africa where we have an abundance of reasonably to high quality rock even on the coastal platforms; so one has to be extremely proactive in how one sources this rock,” he says. “The rock that one finds, is in some cases, marginal and of low quality, but we believe that we have endeavoured to secure the best.” In terms of the company’s progress in phases, it has found the partnership, has established an up-and-running operation and has a key workforce that comprises expat and local personnel. “This is

Afrimat’s managing director Contracting International, Gerhard Odendaal (photo Dale Kelly).

Afrimat has sourced a country manager with vast experience and business acumen in African projects. Expat Canadian Gerhard Hurst represents Afrimat for bidding and business development. He is pictured with Gomes Manuel, who is the logistics coordinator.

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MODERN QUARRYING

October - November 2015