The Zest WEG Group, including EnI Electrical, Shaw Controls and IMS Cape, has been awarded a contract by RB Met (Pty) Ltd, a joint venture between Royal Bafokeng Holdings and Metix (Pty) Ltd, to supply a complete electrical solution for a 600 000 tpa Outotec SBS™ ferrochrome pelletising and sintering plant in Rustenburg. The plant is being constructed for the Xstrata Merafe Pooling and Sharing Venture (PSV). Construction on this energy efficient greenfields plant started on April 21, 2011.

Trevor Naude, sales & marketing manager at EnI, a Zest WEG Group company, says the contract was secured on the strength of the company’s ability to cover the entire spectrum of electrical requirements — from supply of long lead items, such as transformers, to electric motors and full electrical and instrumentation installation.

The scope of the EnI contract, scheduled for completion by the third quarter of 2012, comprises a complete electrical and instrumentation package from a single source, with engineering provided by Metix, a specialist in sinter pelletising technology. The overall electrical supply package is being managed by Zest.

“The advantage of dealing with a multi-disciplinary single source supplier is that we have been able to offer value added prices,” Naude says. “To keep costs down, most of the electrical equipment was procured upfront, thus taking advantage of that current market price. “

Power and distribution transformers are sourced from Zest WEG’s transformer division, while motor control centres and small Variable Speed Drives (VSDs) come from Shaw Controls, also a Zest WEG Group company. Large, low voltage (LV) free standing VSDs up to 900 kW are supplied by Zest WEG and a complete standby diesel-driven generator was sourced from IMS Cape, a Zest division.

Included in the contract are 150 LV WEG IE3 motors and two 3.5 MW 6 pole 11 KV WEG mill motors, one of which will be stored as a spare. These mill motors are identical to other WEG motors already commissioned within Xstrata Group operations and Naude says this existing relationship enhances the company’s parts holding.

Metix, in conjunction with Zest, successfully applied to SARS for a stage consignment ruling to bring the motors in free from South African duties, which saved Xstrata long term CAPEX cost.

The Tswelopele Project is expected to be fully operational by 2013. The building of the Tswelopele plant means that all five of the venture’s smelting locations will have agglomeration capacity. The plant will utilise fine ore that could not be used “as is” in the furnaces and agglomerating them into pellets. The pellets then go through a sintering process. The plant is expected to significantly improve operational efficiencies, costs and deliver environmental improvements.