To some the idea of living within the walls of a Zambian mining town may not seem all too attractive, however Imison recently wrapped a project that may change the way one thinks of a typical African mining town. The construction company has supplied Structural Concrete Insulated Panel building kits to mining areas like those in Solwezi where 85 3-bedroom houses, a school, sports center, and guest lodge are being put into place for the mine’s management.
One attractive quality that clients found about the homes were insulation benefits that ToolCrete™ Mortar Sprayer products provided. Zambia rests within an extremely warm climate- summer heat often rising above 100° F. For this reason it was essential that the buildings maintained consistent and comfortable temperatures year round without the use of air conditioning. The houses have been incredibly well received by mine management and their families due to ‘green’ credentials that they represented, the most popular being solar water heaters. Angus Ferguson, of Comstruct Corporation in Zimbabwe, stated in an interview with ToolCrete™ that “the mine itself has its own objectives as being as environmentally friendly as possible”.
When the project first began, a specialized crew was sent in from South Africa by Imison to train local foremen and builders on the erection process for the first frames of the structures. They then came back with suggestion for improvement, which is where the ToolCrete Sprayer Guns came into play by providing stucco as an easy, eco-friendly alternative that creates a comfortable living space given the harsh climate.
The Comstruct crews worked in teams for spraying the stucco onto the Imison SCIP Panel system. Each house had 2 to 3 spray crews going at once to get the job done fast and efficiently. The first crew member mixed the stucco while the second supplied fresh mix to the third who used the sprayer to apply the stucco onto the Imison SCIP Panels.
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This technique in turn influenced other construction companies in surrounding towns. Developers in Solwezi and Kansanshi specifically, conveyed huge interest in this alternate way of development along with contributing positive feedback. In the end Imison declared they were far happier with the stucco sprayers compared to what they had originally started with. Continue reading about SCIP Panel Construction…