South African engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company Lesedi has recently been awarded a contract to assist South32’s Mozal aluminum plant in its expansion project.

The $38-million AP3XLE energy efficiency project was approved in the third quarter of 2017 and started the rollout of its pot line upgrade programme ahead of schedule during the September 2018 quarter.

The Mozal Aluminium operation, which is west of Mozambique’s capital city of Maputo, is one of the largest industrial employers in the country and is made up of an aluminium smelter and logistics infrastructure.

The project is expected to deliver an increase of about 4%, or 22 000 t, a year in production, for no associated increase in power consumption. Lesedi, which operates in the power generation, mining, oil and gas and renewable energy environments, said the full benefit of the project was expected by the 2024 financial year.

Lesedi is to upgrade the compressed air installation plant through an additional compressor with its own "heat of compression dryer". A new evaporative cooling tower would be integrated with the current compressed air system, together with the overall integration of the compressed air system into the Mozal ring supplies, said Lesedi.

Lesedi’s Gauteng GM Bernhard Wilcocks said a Lesedi team had been involved with the Mozal compressed air installation since Mozal was built in the late 1990s.

“Through this project we continue to diversify Lesedi’s business landscape and continue offering the mining sector with bespoke engineering solutions.”

Leon van Wyk, Lesedi’s project manager for the Mozal AP3XLE compressed air expansion project, said Lesedi was pleased to have achieved this milestone with South32.

“This project not only aims to increase the capacity of the Mozal plant, but also to contribute to the increase in quality of life in Mozambique through jobs creation. “Lesedi is proud to be part of this initiative and we look forward to commissioning our plant to assist Mozal to achieve its goals.”