Local steel processing company Get Steel has invited interested and affected parties to submit comments on a draft scoping report into the refurbishment of the Naledi Foundry, in Benoni, Gauteng.

The company also intends to install additional infrastructure and equipment to establish a new billet and precision casting foundry on the remainder of the site.

Get Steel is undertaking a stakeholder engagement process as part of its waste management licence application, as well as an atmospheric emissions licence.

The draft scoping report is available to view here (https://enviroprac.co.za/documents/) and comments can be submitted to admin@enviroprac.co.za before June 14.

Consultancy Enviroprac was appointed to undertake the draft scoping report and is overseeing the environmental-impact assessment process related to the licences.

Get Steel has asked that all correspondence make clear reference to the project and include full contact details, preferred method of contact and an indication of any direct business, financial, personal or any other interest in the project.

The Naledi Foundry was previously owned and operated by Naledi Foundry Operations since 1947, but was placed in business rescue and has not operated since 2022.  

The foundry used to produce cast components from scrap steel and other raw materials. The property and existing assets were acquired by Get Steel’s parent company, Get Metal, in May 2023.

Get Steel expects the refurbishment and construction project to provide 150 temporary jobs during the construction phase and a further 80 permanent operational phase jobs. The company anticipates an initial capital investment of R150-million at the site and to make a R30-million income tax contribution every year.

Foundries are one of the largest contributors to the manufacturing recycling movement, melting and recovering millions of tons of scrap metal every year to create new durable goods.

The metal recovery process has significant benefits in terms of the waste-to-value chain and diversion of waste from landfill and avoiding impacts associated with mining and processing of virgin materials to produce steel components. 

Get Steel is applying for its required licences with the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the City of Ekurhuleni, with both licences’ stakeholder engagement processes running concurrently.

The property is 9.8 ha in size and is located at 37 Lincoln road, in Benoni Industria.

Get Steel assures in the draft scoping study that a waste-to-value facility such as the proposed foundry works meets the need to reduce over-reliance on virgin, non-renewable raw materials as it will convert scrap metal waste to usable metal components.

The project will involve the diversion of scrap metal from landfill, while the melting of the metal will take place in furnaces powered by electricity rather than combustion technology.

A small volume of gas will, however, be required to be combusted for the gas-fired top-hats in the rolling mill. A gas pipeline from Sasol is already in place to supply the site, avoiding the need to transport gas to the site.

The site will require 10 000 litres of water a day to service the steel billet manufacturing foundry, but Get Steel plans to build a closed water circulation system to reduce water supply needs. The company also plans to harvest rainwater.

Get Steel is still investigating opportunities to supplement the facility’s grid power requirements with solar panels, which will be outlined in an upcoming engineering and services technical report in due course.

It is envisioned that the steel billet manufacturing foundry will process up to 15 000 t of scrap steel, iron and stainless steel a month and produce up to 14 000 t of steel billets a month.

Notably, the hazardous waste produced from the melting process will be skimmed off the surface, cooled and sold to third parties for off-site processing, or be disposed to a licensed landfill in the case where suitable third parties cannot be sourced.

In turn, the precision casting foundry that will be built will comprise 11 electric induction furnaces to melt metal for pouring into ceramic moulds.

The precision casting foundry will process up to 220 t of scrap material a month, to produce about 210 t of cast components a month.

Get Steel will be using abatement equipment to lower emissions on site.