On-site and prefabricated accommodation specialist Speedspace has assisted Botswana-based copper and nickel smelting company BCL with mine-site accommodation solutions for the shutdown and upgrading of its 11-year-old cooling system at its smelting furnace located at Selebi Phikwe.

Speedspace finalised the delivery of the on-site accommodation solutions in the final quarter of 2015 for the 1 200 people working during the 62-day planned shutdown. The accommodation comprises prefabricated park home sleepers – from the company’s speedsleep range of its rental fleet and ablution units from the speedloo range.

BCL is modernising its smelting furnace to run for longer. Refurbishments will be done on the flash smelting furnace, the waste heat boiler, the drying pan, electric furnaces, converters and the ancillary equipment.

The shutdown and upgrade operation is engaging about 2 000 workers from several contracted companies, including global engineering specialist solutions provider Kentz Engineers & Contractors, and 4 500 BCL staff.

According to Speedspace, the versatility of the modular accommodation and ablution units allow for shorter lead times in site establishment as well as quick turnaround times in altering building layouts to suit the customer’s requirements.

Speedspace delivered 135 modular buildings that included a combination of mobile male and female ablution facilities and modular sleep units, culminating in a project size of 4 256 m2.

The company also states that it used its local rental fleet located in Phakalane, Gabarone, and supplemented the shortfall with units from its South African operations in Randburg, Johannesburg.

“This enabled us to provide all the accommodation solutions in just one month and avoid delaying the planned shutdown and upgrading work,” notes the company.

The upgrades to the BCL smelting furnace are ongoing.

Expansion

Earlier this year, Speedspace announced that prefabricated and mobile containers supplier Ufudu Specialised Space Solutions had merged with its group of companies that consists of Speedspace Rentals and Speedspace Factory Built Accommodation.

In an official statement, the company emphasises that the merger will allow it to leverage its combined regional footprint, with existing offices in South Africa, Botswana and Zambia, supported by a procurement office in Shanghai, China.