Brazil’s Vale recently posted some design images of its long awaited S11D iron ore project in Para state, which will be based on an In-Pit Crushing and Conveying system (IPCC). Featured in the IM May IPCC report,construction of the huge S11D project by Vale is already well underway. Vale’s multi-billion dollar S11D project is a world-class 90 Mt/y iron ore processing facility located approximately 1,940 km north of Sao Paulo, part of the Carajas mining complex.

Both SKM and Snowden are involved in the delivery. Snowden recently announced that Vale has awarded a contract to Snowden Brazil for the implementation of the long term planning and implementation of the IPCC solution. Snowden services will include, in a first phase, the support of Vale in the development of the long term mine plan adopting an IPCC solution. Snowden has already facilitated a workshop with the Vale’s Long Term Planning and Operational Readiness teams. SKM has a $76 million implementation contract for the truckless component and will provide engineering for the truckless system, procurement support, project execution planning and project management services.

The IPCC system will be implemented in the Serra Sul (S11D) block, a ridge of land 30 km long and around 1.8 km wide. The core equipment is the Sandvik PF200-9500 fully mobile IPCC system, of which it is thought four will be employed at the mine. This design is a variant of the PF300 and has the same fundamental four crawler design as shown in the image. In addition to Sandvik, ThyssenKrupp has also secured an IPCC order for the S11D project in January 2012 from Vale for three crushing plants, each with a design capacity of 2,500 t/h; each plant will working in combination with two mobile conveyor modules mounted on wheels. These are fully mobile crushing rigs equipped with a large jaw crusher of type EB 20 x15.