South African prefabricated building manufacturer Kwikspace is shipping its KwikMax building materials solution to a mine in Burkino Faso, where it will be used to erect offices, ablution facilities and a dining room, covering about 250 m2.

Kwikspace building solutions manager David van Zyl tells Mining Weekly that he expects the building materials to arrive on site next month. The buildings will be erected by subcontractor modular building solutions company Prefab International.

He points out that the solution was selected for this project, owing to the speed at which KwikMax buildings are erected, adding that they can be completed in about 40% of the time it takes to build an equivalent-size conventional brick and mortar building.

Further, the solution was selected because of its longevity, which is a minimum of 20 years. “These buildings will last for the life-of-mine,” says Van Zyl.

He adds that the client requested a permanent structure that would not rot or corrode, comprised alternative materials to brick and mortar, and was commercially viable.

“It was found that shipping the KwikMax solution from South Africa was significantly cheaper than building brick and mortar buildings.”

Van Zyl explains that KwikMax is a heavy structured solution using a light-steel frame and panels, which are clad with a 9 mm fibre-cement board and finished with a plaster coating, giving the building “the feel and effect of a fully plastered house”. The panels and frames are erected on site and then connected using a jointing compound.

He points out that the effectiveness of KwikMax was displayed at TSX-listed minerals producer Ivanhoe Mines’ Kamoa copper project, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Prefab International erected twenty 20 m2 two-bedroom housing units.

The project, which was completed in March this year, was designed to test the building speed, insulation properties and life span of the KwikMax against other solutions, such as brick and mortar and conventional prefabricated units.

Van Zyl highlights that the installation of the KwikMax solutions was significantly faster than the brick and mortar solution, with the first two housing units being completed in 30 days. KwikMax also outperformed the other solutions in its ability to regulate thermal temperatures and, owing to the plaster finish, the solution felt more comfortable and “homely”.

“To build brick and mortar houses on site at a mining operation is not feasible, as they cannot be built fast enough to cater for the growth of a mining project. “The number of housing units needed would impact significantly on the commercial viability of the project,” he states.

The housing scheme at Kamoa is expected to grow as mining operations increase. Van Zyl notes that owing to the progressive ramp up of the housing project at the copper mine, Prefab International was mandated to train a significant number of local residents to effectively erect the housing units. This will provide the mine with sufficient access to the necessary labour for future housing projects, with only one of Prefab International’s supervisors needed on site.

A single KwikMax solution requires four to six people to construct, including builders, electricians and plumbers, which will work on a unit at different phases of the construction process.

KwikMax has been successfully used in the construction of about 4 000 buildings across Southern Africa.