Lafarge South Africa is a gold sponsor of the Advances in Cement and Concrete Technology in Africa (ACCTA) conference scheduled for 28-30 January 2013 at Emperor’s Palace. The conference will focus on concrete as the building material with the performance and sustainable environmentally-friendly features to meet Africa’s burgeoning demand for infrastructure and housing.

As well as the company’s sponsorship of this important event, Lafarge South Africa is contributing two technical papers: one from its highly regarded technical resource, Quality Department Southern Africa (QDSA), while the other is a joint paper from QDSA and Lafarge subsidiary, Ash Resources. Dr Reinhold Amtsbüchler, professional engineer and manager of QDSA, is presenting a paper entitled ‘Natural Pozzolans and their use by the cement industry in Africa’.

Dr Amtsbüchler has headed Lafarge’s development of advanced formulation cements incorporating siliceous fly ash, a pozzolanic by-product of pulverised coal-fired power stations. He has also assisted Lafarge operations in Tanzania and Malawi with the evaluation and utilisation of natural pozzolans.

Ash Resources, South Africa’s leading producer and supplier of fly ash products, pioneered the development of local fly ash to be among the world’s finest quality fly ash products. Fly ash is today a strategically important component of the region’s cements and concretes. The company’s technical manager, Lehlohonolo Madumo, will be presenting a paper ‘30 years high quality fly ash in South Africa’.