Mining explosives and chemicals group AECI is preparing to invest between R700-million and R900-million to modernise its historic Modderfontein facility, in Gauteng, which the group views as key to its ongoing competitiveness in southern and central Africa.
CEO Alan Dickson, who took up the position on July 1, tells Engineering News & Mining Weekly that the company has already made some initial investments at the facility in a bid to improve efficiencies and raise utilisation levels.
Speaking following the release of improved interim results for the period to June 30, he described these low-capital investments as the first phase of a larger optimisation plan for Modderfontein, whose future was in doubt a few years ago.
“The second part of that is a larger-scale, more complex exercise, which focuses on a number of the core parts of the business,” Dickson said in an interview.
He indicated that the complex engineering work for the next phase was under way and would be followed by a contracting phase ahead of project execution.
