In partnership with SEMICA Corporate (Société exploitation des Moines et Carriers ), one of the leading quarry businesses in Mali, IVENTUS entered into the aggregates industry and opened a new quarry to meet the market demand created by construction and infrastructure around Bamako, the capital city of Mali. As a newcomer in the quarry business, they relied on Metso to provide them with a complete solution consisting of pre-defined plant layouts and equipment. The company’s objective was to develop a high-quality plant that would produce a high-quality product. Reduced commercial risks, maximized throughput, reduced operating cost, lower environmental impact and equipment efficiency were key contributing factors to IVENTUS- SEMICA’ operating model.
IVENTUS Mining Corporate runs at an optimized process performance with Metso’s Nordplant Solution
Population growth increases demand for aggregates
Due to strong population growth, the construction sector in Mali has grown with more focus on increased housing and road construction. In response to this demand, Iventus Mining and SEMICA Corporate entered into the aggregates market and opened a new quarry in Bamako.
Through its National Strategy for Social Housing, Mali plans to build 50,000 public housing units to transform the country’s residential areas and enhance communities. Central to this plan is the government’s goal to increase economic development in Northern Mali. Housing and road construction are the second contributors to the regions GDP. There are other infrastructure projects including building of dams, bridges.
"The interest to develop the quarry was driven by our motive to be part of Government’s programme of action, specifically with focus on public housing and road construction. The Government of Mali has launched a lot of infrastructure and construction projects and in order to execute these programme, there is a high need for raw material. Our business is not only focused on providing the mineral resource required but also to set an example in the industry on how private sectors can contribute to economic development through mining," said Mamou Toure, General Manager of IVENTUS MINING.
It was against this background that IVENTUS MINING, together with their partner, SEMICA Corporate, approached Metso to help them develop a high-quality plant that would produce high-quality product. With the customer being a newcomer in the quarry business, they also wanted to reduce commercial risks and ensure overall equipment efficiency by using a well-experienced service provider.
After listening to the customer business objectives and demand for a flexible solution, the Metso expert team recommended the Nordplant™ solution. The decision was driven by the positive feedback from industry-peers on the Metso Nordplant™ solution as well as the ease of engagement with the Metso team of experts and their optimism during the consultation process.
Offering beyond only equipment
IVENTUS MINING and its partner SEMICA Corporate management was very satisfied with the unique knowledge and experience of Metso’s sales and technical team.
“From the beginning of our engagement with Metso and throughout the production process, we had great support from the team. Beyond providing us with the equipment, the Metso expert team and technicians also provided us with comprehensive training and supervision during and post the construction phase. They are always available to assist us with any enquiries we have and for us, this is an added benefit and great value” said Mamou Toure General manager of IVENTUS MINING and very experienced Mining Engineer who had great track record in Gold production fields.
Responding on the customer’s requirements, the Vice President for Aggregates in the Africa Market Area at Metso, Pascal Florian said, “for a customer that is new in the aggregates business, and who requires a medium plant capacity with high efficiency and process flexibility, Nordplant™ represent the best solution for a quick return on investment.”
Prior to contacting Metso, the customer investigated the market first to look for the best solution for their business. The benchmark was not only driven by price; reputation and equipment quality as well as long-term partnership were key decision-making contributing factors. “The Metso Nordplant™ solution is really a good quality plant. Today we are endorsed as one of the best production plants in the country as a result of the Metso Nordplant™ solution with SEMICA Corporate rated within the Top 3 aggregate producer in the country,” said Mamou.
Safety was also a priority. “The safety of our employees is number one on our agenda. Since starting operation in January 2019, the plant has been working very well and we had no lost-production-time. What makes me prouder is that, to date, we have been extracting 200 tones p/h all injury free,” said Mamou.
A complete Nordplant solution providing top-quality aggregates
The Metso Nordplant solution for aggregates crushing and screening is built using pre-designed modules, which allow quick delivery and easy assembly to get the customer’s plant up and running in a short space of time, providing high efficiency and industrial performance for quick return on investment.
For The Kaka Project, Metso provided three crushing stages and a selective crushing circuit for an excellent aggregate quality in terms of shape.
The crushing plant includes a Nordberg® primary jaw crusher C120 a Nordberg HP300 standard coarse cone crusher, an HP300 short head coarse as well as two screens, a Metso CVB2060-4M™ and CVB2060-4M™. The plant capacity is 200 t/h of 5 aggregates end-products.
The complete solution includes steelworks, two intermediate hoppers for a proper and regular feeding of the HP crushers, 15 Metso conveyors and the complete electrical and automation equipment.
Post production testimonial:
Few weeks post production, the Metso team received Mr. Mamou in Macôn. He provided the team with an engineered analysis of the products stocks and asked Metso to support him to optimize the plant production output, to increase the fractions with higher market.
Metso performed laboratory tests on the aggregates samples he brought with him and worked together with our process expert to set the plant parameters to reach his requirements. It was a useful meeting for Metso team to understand customer needs and have a real feedback.
Following the visit from the customer, Metso’s supervisor who followed the plant assembling and commissioning visited the customers site to support customer’s team with a new training session. This is one real example of how Metso can support customers also after plant commissioning and help them to optimize his production in function of the market demands.
