Modern Quarrying Q3 2019

ACI shows marginal improvement year-on-year Afrimat, the JSE-listed open pit mining company providing industrial minerals,

especially via a revival of the RDP hous- ing scheme and restoring the functional- ity at dozens of bankrupt municipalities. The latter will assist local governments in accessing conditional grants earmarked for infrastructure.” l

Limestone mining at Dudfield began in 1949, with the first kiln established in 1965. Today, the plant produces over a million tonnes of clinker on its Kiln 3 plant to meet mar- ket demands. The plant has a cement production capacity of over 1,3-mil- lion tonnes. The plant also has the flexibility to supply bulk cement by both road and rail, as well as its own bagged cement. There are 65 years of proven limestone reserves on AfriSam Dudfield’s 3 608 ha mining licence. AfriSam invests constantly in energy saving strategies at its cement plants. Since 1990, it has achieved a cumulative reduction of 31% of cement-specific thermal consump- tion, measured in megajoules per tonne of cement. Meyer highlights the potential of the new carbon tax – in force from 1 June 2019 – to incentivise ener- gy-saving innovation. “The depressed state of the economy has dampened many of industry’s good ideas, and if carbon tax revenues could cover recorded for the economy as a whole since the first quarter of last year. “The recessionary environment in the South African construction sector is con- firmed by a declining trend in the ACI’s four-quarter average value that lasted for seven successive quarters, although there was a marginal upward movement this quarter.” Botha also points out that the ACI is now 9,1% higher than eight years ago (the base period for the index), com- pared to an increase of 12,2% in the GDP over this period – signalling a below-par performance for a sector that plays a key role in the development of infrastructure, housing and new production capacity in the economy. “This reflects a dire need for govern- ment to incentivise a higher level of business activity throughout the whole of the construction sector supply-chain,

bulk commodities and construction materials, has released the findings of its Afrimat Construction Index (ACI) for the first quarter of 2019. The ACI is a composite index of the level of activity within the building and construc- tion sectors, compiled by renowned economist Dr Roelof Botha on behalf of Afrimat. This quarter’s ACI broadly followed the same disappointing trend evident in overall economic activity during the first quarter of the year, during which South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) declined by more than 3% (compared to the fourth quarter of 2018). According to Botha, it is nevertheless encouraging to note that the first quarter ACI level increased on a year-on-year basis, which is better than the zero real growth

Andries van Heerden, CEO of Afrimat.

AFRISAM’S RELENTLESS FOCUS ON CARBON EMISSION REDUCTION

industry incentives, the resulting innovations would have a range of positive spin-offs. Apart from easing demand on Eskom’s grid, this would also contribute toward the coun- try’s Paris Agreement obligations,” Meyer says. AfriSam’s commitment is clear to see – it is the first cement manufac- turer to equip all its kilns with bag filters. This brought emissions to below even the European standard of 30 mg/m³. l

It is not business as usual for AfriSam – the company has been working hard towards reducing its impact on the environment for many years. Since 1990, the leading sup- plier of construction materials has reduced its C02 emissions by 35%. But this, according to Hannes Meyer, cementitious executive at AfriSam, is not where it ends. Meyer says AfriSam continues to cut the carbon footprint of its cement. Efforts focus on using less energy in the production of clinker, while mak- ing more use of extenders like fly-ash and slag. “We are probably South Africa’s leading company in our understand- ing and application of extenders in cement,” he says. He emphasises that this field holds great scope for creating more environmentally friendly cements, but required con- siderable technical expertise. With its many years of experience, AfriSam is applying that expertise in its ongoing cement innovation.

AfriSam has reduced its CO 2 by 35% since 1990.

emissions

5

QUARTER 3 - 2019 MODERN QUARRYING