Plant and Process

General

• Paste is specially formulated to minimize thermal shock and to reduce overall consumption rate.
• Success achieved is evident locally and abroad in the ferrochromium, silicon metal, ferrosilicon, ferro/silicon manganese, iron, nickel and copper industries.

Calcining

• Locally sourced anthracite is calcined in 4 x 1.5 MVA vertical shaft furnaces into ECA (electrical calcined anthracite).
• Strict quality control ensures that ECA with a specific resistivity is produced

Sizing

• ECA is screened into three fractions and a fourth fraction is created by milling in an air swept ball mill.
• Fractions are pre-weighed and mixed in a specific ratio to obtain the optimum packing density for high strength and thermal shock resistance.
• High quality control is once again applied to ensure batch to batch consistency.

Blending and Mixing

• After weighing, the different size fractions are pre-heated before mixing in a high intensity mixer.
• Pre-weighed heated pitch binder is added to achieve the correct plasticity.

Pitch Binder

• Heat treated pitch with a softening point of 55-59 °C or a 68-73 °C (R&B) straight distilled pitch is used as binder.

Moulding

• Paste is either moulded in 1000mm cylinders or blocks (90 & 50mm cubes).
• Different sizes are supplied to suit customer requirements.

Packaging and Dispatch

• Paste is supplied in bulk, cylinders into bulk bags, cylinders shrinked wrapped onto pallets and blocks into bulk bags.

Quality control

• Major emphasis is placed on quality and rigorous control is exercised on all parameters that influence the quality of the paste.

Customer service

• Technical support and advise on casing design
• Assistance on electrode management

Sindawonye Trust Fund

Creation of the Trust

• Trust created to enable ownership of equity by Previously Disadvantaged Individuals (PDI’s) Beneficiaries).
• Constitutes a Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) entity.
• 26% of the ordinary share capital of African Carbon Union Pty Ltd (ACU), was donated to the Trust.
• Management just a trustee, a PDI chairman

Objectives of the Trust

• Receiving of dividends, interest and other distributions from ACU.
• Establishing and maintaining an Upliftment Fund.
• Making annual distributions to the beneficiaries from the dividend income received, after discharging all the Trust’s liabilities

Application of dividends

• Dividends must first be applied to repay any loan instalment obligation, thereafter to pay any expenses incurred by the Trust.
• The balance shall be distributed as follows:
  • A minimum of 25% and a maximum of 50% shall be distributed to beneficiaries (PDI employees)
  • The balance shall accrue to the Upliftment Fund.

Upliftment fund

• Purpose is to raise and administer funds for the upliftment and development of the beneficiaries.
• Skills development of Beneficiaries and their families
• Educational development of Beneficiaries and their families
• Creation of appropriate institutional and operational structures to ensure sustainable development and upliftment in the surrounding community

Bethesda

Bethesda’s vision is to provide a structured, goal directed, therapeutic and school programme for the physically and mentally handicapped child and young adult in the Middelburg and surrounding areas.

The aim is to provide high quality, home based love and care in its hostel, which accommodate learners from inside and outside Middelburg as far as Pretoria, Nelspruit, Groblersdal, Ermelo, Amersfoort, etc. that cannot be cared for at home.

Disabled children who need to be placed in foster care due to physical and emotional abuse by parents or family are also accommodated.

The MEC of Health, Mpumalanga, is investigating support for Bethesda as one of three initiatives.

The Principal Occupational Therapist of the facility offered training assistance to caretakers of the Project Lion Community with regard to stimulation training for the disabled.
Another example of the community seeking support due to the effective communication of Xstrata’s endeavours in reaching out to the community.

Leseding Crèche

Paulinah Mathebula is a single parent that runs a crèche in her backyard. This shelter caters for 20 children from the age of 9 months to the age of four years. She started this project in 2004 and is the only person who looks after the children. She is doing everything for the children, like cooking and teaching in order to prepare them for pre-school.

Fountain of Knowledge Crèche

This is a team effort from Simpiwe Mamani, George Mnisi and Isabella Goosen. This all started when a suggestion was forwarded and followed through. A little effort can make a big difference to someone’s life. The suggestion was to feed the bambinos at the crèche, Fountain of Knowledge ext 10. (Food is being delivered to the school every morning early).