Mocke Construction, in collaboration with Marley Pipe Systems, undertook to complete the

longest known tailings pipeline for gold slurry in South Africa with the aid of Marley’s quality

HDPE liner pipes and the revolutionary new SurelineTM technology – a first for Africa. This

technology represents a valuable change to the face of pumping slurries and rehabilitating of

slurry pipelines in the mining industry.

Mocke Pipeline Construction is an experienced pipeline construction and engineering company

that provides customised turnkey solutions, covering a wide spectrum of civil, mechanical,

rehabilitation, and services principles for the installation of on-shore and off-shore pipelines.

The company Fraser Alexander, in conjunction with the client, DRDGold SA, approached

Mocke Pipeline Construction to intervene in an immense project involving the lining of a

500mm diameter pipe, 50km long in 12 months, for the purpose of pumping gold slurries, and

in January 2011, they commenced work on site.

This complex project involved the lining of a newly erected steel pipeline from the Ergo plant

outside Springs to Crown, passing through Johannesburg suburbia. The aim of the project

centred around sending the gold slurry material from several reclamation dumps in the

Johannesburg area along the newly constructed pipeline to the Ergo plant which is one of the

largest recovery plants in the country. From there, it is pumped to the Brakpan tailing dam

where it is discharged. As a result, several reclamation mine dumps in the Witwatersrand area

shall be diminished in the next few years.

Working alongside Mocke Construction as a supplier and trusted advisor was Marley

Infrastructure, a division of Marley Pipe Systems, the leading supplier to the civil, mining,

irrigation and industrial markets in sub-Saharan Africa. The successful completion of such

a wide-ranging project depended on SurelineTM Technology, a cost-effective and durable

polyethylene (HDPE) internal lining process that folds the fully dimensional liner pipe into a

C-shape by using a tucking device on site which enables the liner pipe to be pulled through the

steel pipe in lengths of up to 2km per piece and sizes up to 1200mm in diameter.

www.marleypipesystems.co.za

Marley Infrastructure Success Story: Mocke Construction

“Our experience with Marley was excellent and because of this, we have built a strategic partnership with them for the future.”

- Hein Mocke, Owner Mocke Construction

After the lining is pulled through, the liner is reformed to its original shape with air, forming a

tight-fit liner to match the internal diameter of the host pipeline.

Due to the abrasive nature of slurries, a typical steel pipe would last merely weeks; however,

by introducing a Marley HDPE liner, as per the SurelineTM process, the system is able to last in

excess of 34 years. SurelineTM is surpassing the preferred lining solutions of the past, as it is

the fastest and most cost-effective lining solution available in the world today. SurelineTM saves

up to 50% on replacement costs of existing old pipelines and saves up to 90% on eliminating

flanges on newly constructed pipelines. Integral to the SurelineTM technology process was the

constant supply of quality Marley HDPE liner pipes which added superior value with their highly

abrasive and corrosion resistant properties. In total, the amount of pipe supplied by Marley was

valued at over R23 million, which equated to 154 truckloads of material delivered in 10 months.

This is proof of the immensity of a project that was being implemented for the first time on

South African soil.

Despite the complex and unfamiliar nature of the project, “Marley provided daily interactive

on-site support and were practical and realistic about any challenges that we encountered”,

says Hein Mocke. Hein was greatly impressed by the willingness of the Marley representatives

to understand the new technology from both their perspective as well as Mocke’s, and although

an American representative was available to demonstrate best practice for installation, they

were still faced with difficulties associated with the harsh African conditions which were not

encountered in America. However, both Mocke and Marley together were able to solve these

technicalities.

The project was completed on 30 October 2011 and according to Hein, Marley went beyond

expectations to assist with the project in any way they could, positively affecting the successful

outcome. “Together the two companies have succeeded in completing this massive project in

record time of 10 months, two months ahead of schedule.”

”Our experience with Marley was excellent and because of this,

we have built a strategic partnership with them for the future.”

- Hein Mocke, Owner Mocke Construction

www.marleypipesystems.co.za

“Marley provided daily interactive on-site support and were practical and realistic about any challenges that we encountered”

- Hein Mocke, Owner Mocke Construction