New Saldanha iron ore sampling plant officially opened
08 April, 2011
The new fully automated sampling plant at the Saldanha iron ore terminal was officially opened on Friday, 8 April 2011. Built at a cost of approximately R160 million by Kumba Iron Ore, the South African iron ore business unit of Anglo American, and Transnet, who owns and operates the terminal, the world class facility will enable exporters to have the physical and chemical qualities of iron ore products certified independently before they are loaded for export.
"This world class facility is the result of a partnership between Kumba Iron Ore, Transnet, a number of service providers and potential users. It will serve not just Kumba, but is available for use by all exporters using the Saldanha iron ore terminal," said Chris Griffith, chief executive of Kumba, at the opening.
Construction started in 2008, with commissioning following in the latter half of 2010, continuing through into 2011. The formal accreditation of the facility will start in June 2011, with the expected completion thereof in December 2012. During this period, various umpire laboratories will be employed to verify the results produced by the facility at Saldanha.
There were 5 main contractors and 8 subcontractors, totalling 1 500 people at an average of 125 per month, working on the project. The project was completed without a single lost time injury, with the team recoding 54 000 LTI-free hours in the process.
The contractors were CKIT, who did the building structure design; IMP, who provided the automated laboratory and will operate the facility; DemcoTECH, who was responsible for the supply and installation of all sample preparation equipment; CSI, who supplied the control and integration systems; Multotec, who provided the primary samplers; and Transnet, specifically Transnet Civils, who was responsible for the cutter building, the laboratory building and the provision of services. These buildings constructed by Transnet at a cost of approximately R60 million will be leased to Kumba. Kumba invested about R100 million in the project.
The facility has been designed to comply with the requirements of ISO 3082 (2009): Sampling and Sample Preparation Procedures. It is a fully automated sampling facility which eliminates human error in the sampling process as well as facilitating a quick turn-around time. In essence, the purpose of the facility is to ensure that the products loaded at the port conform exactly to the customer's specifications as ordered, and are independently certified as such.
"For any exporter, it is essential that you know, before your products leave your shores, that you are supplying to the customer's exact specifications, and are able to certify the qualities of the products that you are supplying – as your customers are paying you based on the quality and quantity you specify you have shipped," Griffith said.
"When a vessel arrive weeks later at a port on the other side of the globe, queries regarding the quality and consistency of what has been supplied, are very difficult to manage and may lead to financial disputes and in the worst case resulting in the vessel being turned around because the customer will not accept the load – unless your data is backed up by an accredited, world-class sampling facility."
Accreditation and oversight are provided by SANAS (South African National Accreditation Systems), who are in turn affiliated to ILAC (International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation) Anglo American plc also conducts an annual laboratory audit and bias tests.