Steelwork for

HUSAB Uranium Mine Project

HUSAB Uranium Mine ~ New Stockpile & Ancillary Structures

WINNER 2016 STEEL AWARDS

SOUTHERN AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF STEEL CONSTRUCTION

MINING and INDUSTRIAL CATEGORY

UNION STEEL was presented with the prestigious Southern African Institute of Steel Construction Award in the Mining and Industrial Category at the 2016 Steel Awards function held at the Table Bay Hotel on the

15th of September 2016.

JUDGE’S COMMENT: “What really made it special for me is the fact that you have this structure that’s two soccer fields long, and the best part of a soccer field wide put up in a matter of weeks – purely because the job was planned so well.” – Spencer Erling, SAISC.

Stockpile Building -Tripper Car Gantries, Trusses, Purlins, Bracing & Take-up Towers

UNION STEEL was awarded

the contract to detail, fabricate, blast and paint structural steelwork, and plate-work for The New Uranium Stockpile cover for the HUSAB Mining Site situated 30km from Arandis on the Western Namibian Coast near Swakopmund. The UNION STEEL

construction contract included the erection of 1,600 tonnes of steel structures and plate-work, open grid flooring, 25,500 m² roof sheeting and sidewall cladding, and the installation and commissioning of all mechanical components including the specially designed and ordered

Tripper Car Belt Feeder.

The four 50m long Tripper Conveyor Gantries weighing 140 tonnes each were assembled complete with walkways, handrails, flooring, conveyor supports and rails, and fully sheeted prior to being lifted into position using strand jacking thus realizing a substantial cost and time saving as no suitably sized cranes were available in Namibia at

that time.

Client: Swakop Uranium (Pty) Ltd Project Engineers: HPJV Structural Design Engineers: WAH Engineers Main Contractor: UNION STEEL Steelwork Tonnage: 1,600 tonnes Roofing & Cladding: 25,500 square meters

Steelwork for

HUSAB Uranium Mine Project

Steelwork for

HUSAB Uranium Mine Project

25,500 m² of Roofing and Side-

wall Cladding

Once the East and West support towers had been erected using conventional mobile cranes, the four 140 tonne gantries were erected using the strand-jacking method. Thereafter erection of the 40º roof structure could commence. The 40m Truss “boxes” were assembled at ground level and erected using

two 220 ton mobile cranes.

After steel erection and during the sheeting and cladding activities, all the mechanical equipment for the Tripper Conveyor was installed and commissioned. This included the VRN400 beam protection plate-work and connection to the head-frame of the in-feed conveyor.

Sheeting the 40º roof slope using our in-house designed “gondola” system. Over 1,000 m² of IBR roof area was

installed each day.

Steelwork for

HUSAB Uranium Mine Project

Multi-level Pipe and Cable Support Racks and Equipment Support Structures

Client: Swakop Uranium (Pty) Ltd Project Engineers: HPJV Structural Design Engineers: HPJV Main Contractor: UNION STEEL Steelwork Tonnage: 1,100 tonnes

The UNION STEEL contract

included the supply, fabrication, corrosion protection and erection of 500 tonnes of structural steelwork for the North Pipe Rack. In addition 600 tonnes of steelwork was supplied “free issue” and erected by our client. The Pipe Rack phases were completed two months ahead of program.

Steelwork for

HUSAB Uranium Mine Project

Swakop Uranium HUSAB Mine ~ Ancillary Workshops & Stores

Further to the Stockpile Contract described above, UNION STEEL

was awarded the contract to detail, fabricate, blast and paint structural steelwork, for Various Ancillary Workshop and Stores Buildings for Swakop Uranium’s new HUSAB Mine situated 60km East of Swakopmund, Namibia. The UNION STEEL contract included the delivery and erection of 1,400 tonnes of steelwork, and 41,500 m²

of IBR sheeting & cladding.

Client: Swakop Uranium (Pty) Ltd Project Engineers: HPJV Structural Design Engineers: WAH Engineers Main Contractor: UNION STEEL Steelwork Tonnage: 1,400 tonnes Roofing & Cladding: 41,500 square meters

Central General

Store – 340 tonnes

Central General Workshop – 670 tonnes

Crane Workshop

– 120 tonnes

Re-agent Store

– 75 tonnes

120 tonnes of fabricated crane girders with full penetration welds web to

flanges.

The UNION STEEL site team celebrating yet another successful

project mile-stone.

WINNING TEAM - WINNING PROJECT

The all-conquering UNION STEEL site soccer team.

One of our “Ace” Erection Teams taking a break from erecting steel in 40

degree desert heat.

Steelwork for

HUSAB Uranium Mine Project

The project entailed the detailing, fabrication, corrosive protection, delivery and installation of 4,100 tonnes of steelwork, as well as 67,000 square meters of IBR sheeting. There were a number of interesting challenges to overcome, i.e. short lead times, high specifications required by client, galvanizing of trusses, for the logistical challenges due to cross border distances, lifting and jacking in the 140 ton gantries and sheeting the building on 40 degree slopes. We pioneered some ideas at each phase to overcome the challenges and ultimately bring the project home safely and on time. Some highlights were:

The logistical concern of delivering this volume of steel and sheeting was overcome by partnering with a local transporter and dedicated trucking supplemented our in-house fleet.

The development of the idea and plan to strand jack the gantries (50-meter span and 140 tonnes) into place 38 meters above ground level, as opposed to using the traditional method of cranes, allowing for this part of the project work to be done faster and safer, ultimately saving the project time and the client monies.

The development of sheeting gondola platforms, which supported a four-man team, tools and

materials. These working platforms allowed for the sheeting installation crews to achieve around 1,000 square metres of sheeting installation per day. The safety risk of working on the steep slope was totally eliminated and went a long way in ensuring that Union Steel achieved another incident free project.

Preassembly of truss box sections allowed for the site crews to lift into place bigger sections

of steelwork, minimising works being carried out in the air, again targeting our approach to ensuring that our focus on all projects is safety first, and driven with this mind-set.

The project duration, including both on and offsite activities, was 14 months, with the site duration being 11 months.

Steelwork for

HUSAB Uranium Mine Project