Concor Engineering, a Murray & Roberts Company, has been appointed to undertake structural engineering and civil works at the new sulphuric acid plant at Dundee Precious Metals’ Tsumeb smelter in Namibia.

With extensive experience and expertise in a number of engineering disciplines, Concor Engineering is ideally positioned to provide the erection of all structural steelwork, site fabrication of tanks, installation of mechanical, platework and piping, as well as a portion of the civils infrastructure work.

Owned and operated by Dundee Precious Metals subsidiary, Dundee Precious Metals Tsumeb, previously Namibia Custom Smelters , the Tsumeb plant is operated as an Ausmelt copper smelter on a toll treatment basis. The construction of the gas cleaning system and sulphuric acid plant at Tsumeb will see the processing of off-gases from the smelter and its converters, which yield high arsenic content copper. This will not only produce a downstream revenue for DPM, but will also improve the working and living conditions around the smelter, as a result of the reduced emissions.

The acid plant forms part of the Namibian government’s mandate for DPMT to bring the smelter in line with international environmental standards. The plant is due for completion at the end of 2014 and based on the expected annual smelter production capacity of 240 000 to 310 000 tons of concentrate, it will produce approximately 270 000 to 340 000 tons of sulphuric acid per annum.

Concor Engineering is subcontracting to Outotec for the first of the project, which includes basic engineering, site preparation, final costing and detailed scheduling. Site establishment is complete and construction has commenced. A total of 6 700 tons of steelwork will be erected on site, of which 2 500 tons is allocated to structural steelwork, 600 tons is tank work and the remaining 3 800 tons will be utilised in the mechanicals, piping, platework and ducting.

Concor Engineering will be given the opportunity to demonstrate its ability to quickly mobilise its resources and skilled core team to site in a remote location. The South Africa team will be supplemented by people extracted from the local community.

Concor Engineering will train all local trainees using a training programme, developed in conjunction with the customer, to provide the necessary skills which can be retained in the plant once construction is complete. In addition to the technical aspects so important to the construction phases, the training programme also covers specific safety modules that are in line with the Concor Engineering and Murray & Roberts ‘Stop.Think.Act.24/7’ safety initiative.

Due to the hazardous nature of the plant, the onsite health and safety (H & S) regulations are extremely stringent. Concor Engineering has developed H & S procedures to ensure the uncompromising safety of its employees.

An extensive footprint of projects in a number of market sectors forms the foundation of Concor Engineering’s reputation. The company’s appointment as a contractor at the Tsumeb acid plant stands testimony to its ability to flexibly and professionally approach even the most challenging and demanding cross-border projects.