Vanderbijlpark Slagment achieves 1.75m hours LTI

Leading construction material supplier, AfriSam celebrated a significant milestone at the company’s Vanderbijlpark Slagment Operation in South Africa when it achieved 1.75m Lost Time Injury (LTI)-free hours earlier this year, demonstrating the high safety standards upheld at this plant. This means the plant has been injury free for nine years, a significant milestone. 

Due to its cementitious properties and depending on the application, slagment (which uses ground granulated blastfurnace slag (GGBS)) can replace up to 70 per cent of Portland cement in concrete, enhancing quality in both fresh and hardened states. 

AfriSam’s Vanderbijlpark Slagment Operation has provided slagment for over five decades for the construction of major structures including buildings, dams, bridges, roads and water-retaining structures. The factory has the capacity to produce in excess of 700,000tpa of slagment as well as over 200,000tpa of blended cementitious products. The company sources its raw material from ArcelorMittal South Africa, strategically located near the plant.

David Labuschagne, AfriSam Slagment plant manager, said, “Clinker substitution is not new, but there is a growing trend within South Africa to use more environmentally friendly concrete design mixes that use fly ash or slag,” he says. Interestingly, the Association of Cementitious Material Producers (ACMP) noted that clinker substitution rose from 12 per cent in 1990 to 41 per cent in 2009, with the industry aiming for a 60 per cent rise by 2030. 

“By using a finely tuned mechanical activation method, AfriSam has obtained a more reactive product, enabling the progressive replacement of clinker while maintaining high cementitious quality and strength performance,” Mr Labuschagne added.