Dangote subsidiary, Sephaku Cement (SepCem), launched clinker production at its integrated Aganang plant on 20 August 2014, the company confirmed in an operational update. This follows the announcement on 13 August 2014 on the completion of the hot commissioning of the plant.
 
The first consignment from Sephaku's flagship works in Northwest Province, South Africa, will be delivered to the company's Delmas grinding unit Mpumalanga. To-date, SepCem has been purchasing clinker to mill at Delmas where it has achieved a capacity utilisation rate of 60 per cent, the company said earlier this month.
 
The Aganang facility is a fully-integrated production plant which is designed to achieve an output of 7000tpd of clinker and 1.5Mta of cement. The establishment of the Aganang works marks the first new player to establish a fully-integrated clinker and cement plant in the country in almost 80 years.

New ready-mixed concrete plant
Meanwhile, in line with SepCem's strategy of increasing capacity in Gauteng, its wholly-owned subsidiary, Métier Mixed Concrete (Pty) Ltd, will be launching another 70m³/hour capacity plant in Gauteng during September 2014. The addition of this fourth plant will increase Métier's production capacity footprint in Gauteng bringing the total to 11 plants including the seven operations in KwaZulu Natal.