At the ABB Capital Markets Day on September 9 in London, being attended by IM Editor Paul Moore, the company has announced a new $103 million contract from Vale to install electrical and automation systems at the Carajas iron ore mine in northern Brazil, which form part of a major capacity expansion. The order follows on from a previous $140 million contract won by ABB to complete the first phase of the S11D project, supplying and installing automation and electrical equipment for the process plant that separates the ore from waste. More details on ABB’s strategy for mining will appear in a future issue of IM, based on an interview at the Capital Markets event with ABB Head of Process Automation, Veli-Matti Reinikkala.
With the new order, ABB will supply a 230 kV in-feed substation to connect the mine to the electricity grid as well as 42 substations. These secondary substations will be contained in ABB’s e-houses – prefabricated walk-in modular outdoor enclosures designed to house a range of electrical and automation equipment. ABB will also supply the motors driving the mine conveyor belts.
Vale is developing a sustainable mine of the future in the Amazon and S11D is seen as representing an industry vanguard for the next 20 or even 30 years, as well as of course being a flagship of truckless IPCC mining. To achieve this, ABB has developed highly customised solutions and has the capability to successfully deploy these solutions on a massive scale. “I’m proud that ABB and Vale’s close relationship over more than 10 years has culminated in this pioneering project that sets a new standard in productivity, sustainability and safety”, said Reinikkala. “Cross-divisional collaboration on this project is enabling tight power and automation integration, a key differentiator for ABB.”
ABB’s first contract for S11D announced in September 2012, required the installation and successful commissioning for the primary transmission substation, the first of its kind in Brazil. With this new phase, ABB has been asked to extend the electrical system to the excavators, stackers, reclaimers and conveyor belt system in the mine itself.