Outotec has been awarded two contracts for the management and execution of shut-down services of Samarco’s four iron ore pellet plants in Brazil. These contracts, to be carried out together with Samarco’s own personnel, will last until the end of 2016. Samarco has, in total, four pellet plants at its manufacturing facility in Ubú, in the state of Espírito Santo. Outotec has designed, supplied and installed the two newest indurating furnaces at the facility, both of which incorporate the use of Outotec core technology. The fourth indurating furnace, in the largest plant of its type in the world, was successfully commissioned in March 2014 and it is currently undergoing ramp-up of production with Outotec’s operational support.
Outotec has already performed several big shut-down campaigns for Samarco. Over 250 workers have been involved in the last repair, which was finalised ahead of schedule with a zero accident rate. “Samarco is a major producer of iron ore pellets and our long-term partner. The new service contracts are a further step towards a real life-cycle partnership between our companies. Acquired in 2012, Demil Manutenção Industrial in Guarapari played a significant role in this case. With the purchase, Outotec took over two on-going long-term maintenance contracts for Samarco’s pelletising and filtration areas. By combining our resources we can provide the full range of maintenance, shut-down and technical services for our customers”, comments Kimmo Kontola, head of Outotec’s Americas region.”