First Quantum Minerals

The world-leading mining company First Quantum Minerals called on Flowcrete South Africa to supply a wide range of flooring solutions for two of its mines in Zambia.

The workshops in First Quantum Minerals’ Kalumbila and Solwezi sites required floors that would be able to withstand the excessive weight of the 60 tonne Komatsu 960 dump trucks utilised at both locations.

The punishing heaviness of these giant vehicles can easily damage an insufficiently robust finish. Alongside the trucks, the floor would inevitably face a number of impacts, heavy loads, chemicals, wear and use inherent to busy mining operations.

To create a floor area that would maintain a seamless, unaffected surface, a combination of Peran PTS and Flowcoat SF41 was installed. 12,000m² of both was applied within the Kalumbila site and 3,000m² of each system was used in the Solwezi facility. Part of the project involved incorporating railway tracks into the floor in order to move large tanks and equipment over its surface.

The mining company also wanted to make sure that health and safety was a priority in the kitchens of its Zambian mine school. 4,000m² of Flowcrete South Africa’s antimicrobial enhanced Flowfresh SR Ultra system was used to create a hygienic floor area within the kitchen.

The durable polyurethane nature of Flowfresh makes it well suited to coping with the thermal shock, spillages, impacts and frequent cleaning that the floor is subjected to within food processing environments. 

First Quantum Minerals’ flooring project was carried out over a period of 15 months, as and when the mining activity allowed for the application work to be undertaken. The hard-wearing nature of Flowcrete South Africa’s flooring solutions meant that First Quantum Minerals could rest assured that its new surfaces would provide functional finishes for the long term, despite its site’s intensive and complex mining activities.