Mondi's Merebank project commissioned
05 December, 2005
Anglo American is pleased to announce that the R1.4 billion ($175 million) upgrade at Mondi Business Paper's Merebank paper mill in South Africa was successfully commissioned during October.
The new paper machine (“PM31”), announced in September 2003, resulted in the discontinuation of the production of super calendared or magazine grades and the increase in capacity of uncoated woodfree (“UCWF”) paper grades. The Merebank mill's annual production of UCWF paper will increase by approximately 277,000 tonnes to 536,000 tonnes by 2007.
A new 14 pocket A4 cutting line, one of the world's largest and the fastest in operation, has also been installed. It has a daily capacity of 600 tonnes and produces up to 210 A4 reams per minute.
The new investment at Merebank will contribute to further improvements in environmental performance. Improvements to the new flue gas desulphurisation plant and biomass fired multi-fuel boiler will result in a marked reduction in emissions and waste, as well as water and energy consumption.
The capacity increase in South Africa will be partly offset by planned capacity closures at Mondi Business Paper in Hungary. The Mondi group's UCWF paper capacity following the rebuild will amount to 2.1 million tonnes per annum.
Notes to Editors:
Anglo American plc is one of the world's largest mining and natural resource groups. With its subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates, it is a global leader in platinum group metals, gold and diamonds, with significant interests in coal, base and ferrous metals, industrial minerals and paper and packaging. The group is geographically diverse, with operations in Africa, Europe, South and North America, Australia and Asia. (www.angloamerican.co.uk)