Outotec has agreed a three-year operation and maintenance contract with South African Kalagadi Manganese for the new manganese sinter plant located in Hotazel in the country’s Northern Cape province. The contract value is approximately €17 million and it follows Outotec’s earlier €119 million delivery of the one of the world’s largest manganese sinter plants on a turnkey basis, including technology, engineering, project management, supply of all equipment and structural steel, construction, commissioning as well as advisory services for civil works.

The order represents Outotec’s life-cycle oriented approach: in addition to tailored technology solutions Outotec provides comprehensive services spanning from spare-parts supply to continuous process optimisation and responsibility for a plant’s operations with all plant systems, personnel and subcontractor management. Once fully operational the plant is designed to produce 2.4 Mt/y of sinter. Approximately 50 Outotec employees will be working in operation and maintenance at the Kalagadi site and Outotec’s Centurion service centre.

Outotec’s global organisation will support the site organisation with spare parts supply chain management, plant systems implementation and remote monitoring solutions. “This operation and maintenance contract demonstrates our close strategic partnership with Kalagadi Manganese and our ambition to provide added value to our customers through life- cycle solutions. In this way Kalagadi Manganese will get the best possible return on their investment with minimised environmental impact”, says Peter Weber, President of EMEA Region.