Tag Archives: Iron ore

NRW Holdings companies win work from Wonbindi Coal, Lynas Rare Earths, Rio Tinto

Environmental, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , , ,

NRW Holdings Limited companies Golding Contractors and DIAB Engineering have banked some significant contracts in the mining space, the biggest of which is a Mining Service Agreement with Wonbindi Coal Pty Ltd at the Baralaba North Mine in Queensland.

The Baralaba North award is valued at around A$800 million ($546 million) and continues the strong relationship between Golding and Wonbindi where Golding has provided the contract mining services at the Baralaba North Mine over the last four years.

The scope of work remains the same and includes maintaining and operating a client-owned fleet of equipment, producing an ultra-low volatile pulverised coal injection product. The pact commenced on July 1 and follows on from a Binding Letter of Intent the two companies signed earlier in the year.

DIAB Engineering, meanwhile, has been awarded two contracts with a value of circa-A$78 million.

At the Lynas Rare Earths Processing Facility in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, DIAB has been awarded a contract for a key component of the facility, being the construction of the Filter Building used to process and further concentrate the rare earth. The works to be performed include the supply, fabrication and erection of the Filter Building, the installation of associated equipment and piping, and electrical and instrumentation installation.

DIAB will carry out all the circa-1,500 tonne fabrication works for the Filter Building at its facilities in Geraldton using around 80 local Midwest team members. A construction workforce of 60-80 will then be mobilised to site progressively over the coming months.

Lynas Kalgoorlie Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lynas Rare Earths, is the only scale producer of separated rare earths outside of China. It mines and processes rare earth ore at Mt Weld, in the north-eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia. Lynas’ new processing facility in Kalgoorlie will treat rare earth concentrate from Mt Weld to produce a rare earth carbonate.

At Rio Tinto Iron Ore’s Tom Price mine in Western Australia, DIAB Engineering, has secured the supply, fabrication and installation of multiple dust suppression systems to be utilised on the Tom Price and Western Turner crusher and conveyor systems. These systems will assist in improved control and suppression of dust generated from processing activities, reducing the impacts on personnel and plant operations, it says. The project will run for approximately 12 months, employing 60 people at its peak.

Sedgman grows Western Australia presence with Onyx Projects acquisition

Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , ,

Sedgman says it has acquired project management and engineering company Onyx Projects, enhancing its growing Western Australia presence and offering to clients.

Onyx’s long-standing reputation, specialist technical capabilities and experience in the iron ore industry, paired with Sedgman’s minerals processing expertise, project delivery capability and experience, expands Sedgman’s service offering to clients from sustaining capital through to major greenfield development, it explained.

Onyx Projects will be re-named Sedgman Onyx and will operate as a part of Sedgman’s Australia West business unit.

Sedgman Managing Director, Grant Fraser, said: “We welcome the Onyx Projects people to the team and we’re looking forward to working with them. The addition of Onyx Projects to Sedgman will allow us to increase our offering while complementing Sedgman’s existing capabilities to provide our clients with a broader service offering.”

Onyx Projects Managing Director, Ian Beaumont, said: “In Sedgman, we are pleased to find a strategic partner that complements our current services, expands our capability and offers new opportunities to our personnel and our clients.”

Listed among the projects Onyx Projects has worked on are the likes of the Brockman 4 Camp, the West Angelas Deposit A Integrated Dewatering Project, the Koolyanobbing 11Mtpa Upgrades and the Murrin Murrin Nickel Cobalt Operation – Process Control System Services.

Sedgman and Onyx Projects will work through a transition process focused on the continuity of service to clients, Sedgman added.

Metso Outotec to provide compact pelletising option to iron ore market

Mining equipment, Steel and iron ore, , , , ,

Metso Outotec says it has optimised its existing induration technology offering and is launching its Compact-sized Pellet Plant.

The plant design is based on a 3-m-wide indurating machine, building on the design of Metso Outotec’s larger product range. It is billed as offering the same high plant performance and premium product quality as the larger size plants.

Metso Outotec Compact-sized Pellet Plant will be offered in sizes of 189 sq.m (1.2-1.5 Mt/y capacity), 288 sq.m (1.7-2.3 Mt/y) and 315 sq.m (2-2.6 Mt/y).

The new plant design is cost efficient with optimised delivery time, thanks to high standardisation in design and project execution, according to Metso Outotec. At the same time, the design provides the required flexibility to cater to typical customer demands, and customers can also customise the basic offering with add-on packages.

Matthias Gabriel, Director, Ferrous Product Group at Metso Outotec, said: “We are very excited to launch the Compact-sized Pellet Plant. We aim to cater to the flourishing mid-size concentrate producer segment needs with this new offering.

“Conventionally, 4 m is the commonly available and most-used technology. However, today there is an increasing demand for plants with smaller capacities. We have already won an order for this technology and will be installing our first 3-m-wide travelling grate pellet plant in Nagarnagar, Chhattisgarh, in central India. The plant, which will produce 2 Mt/y of high-quality iron ore pellets, is expected to go into production in 2024.”

Metso Outotec is a leading supplier of travelling grate pelletising technology with an installed worldwide base of over 100 plants. Its technology provides dependable process performance with an emphasis on optimising fuel efficiency and minimal emissions.

Rio Tinto orders more Epiroc Pit Viper 271s, SmartROC D65s for Pilbara iron ore mines

Automation, Explosives and blasting, IoT, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , ,

Epiroc says it has won a large order for mining equipment from Rio Tinto in Australia that will see it deliver several Epiroc Pit Viper 271 drill rigs to be retrofitted by Rio Tinto with autonomous capabilities.

On top of the Pit Viper 271s, Epiroc is set to provide SmartROC D65 drill rigs loaded with intelligent features, it said. The units will be used at the miner’s iron ore operations in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

The order exceeds SEK150 million ($14.7 million) in value and was booked in the June quarter of 2022. It follows a large order by Rio Tinto in the March quarter of 2022, also for Pit Viper 271s, and a large order in 2021 for Pit Viper 271 and SmartROC D65 rigs, also for its iron ore mines in Pilbara.

Epiroc President and CEO, Helena Hedblom, said: “Epiroc and Rio Tinto have a long-standing partnership focused on optimising safety and productivity through cutting-edge innovation.”

The Pit Viper 271 and SmartROC D65 drill rigs, manufactured in Texas, USA, and Örebro, Sweden, respectively, are built to face the toughest conditions and will come installed with Epiroc’s Rig Control System, RCS, making them ready for automation and remote control, Epiroc noted.

Fenix takes control of road train haulage business to cut Iron Ridge costs

Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , ,

Fenix Resources says it has signed definitive agreements with Newhaul Pty Ltd to acquire Newhaul’s 50% interest in Fenix-Newhaul Pty Ltd, resulting in the consolidation of 100% ownership of the haulage business into Fenix.

Factoring in the upfront consideration of A$7.5 million ($5.2 million) in cash and 30 million Fenix ordinary shares – with contingent consideration of a further 60 million Fenix shares subject to achievement of significant value-based performance milestones – the additional cash flows generated from the consolidation of the company’s haulage operations will result in higher earnings for Fenix and higher dividends available to Fenix shareholders, it said.

Fenix-Newhaul was incorporated in October 2020 as a 50:50 joint venture company to implement the strategic alliance between Fenix and Newhaul. It was established to provide haulage and logistics services to Fenix’s Iron Ridge Project, in the Mid-West region of Western Australia, 490 km from Geraldton Port.

Fenix-Newhaul operates a fleet of 25 quad road trains which provide a daily haulage capacity to Fenix of up to 4,000 t/d. In the last 18 months, Fenix-Newhaul has hauled the equivalent of over 1.72 Mt of high-grade iron ore to Geraldton, completing over 15,000 round trips travelling almost 15 million km.

The Fenix-Newhaul business provides additional logistics support to Fenix’s operating iron ore loading facilities at Iron Ridge.

The business includes a driver change-over facility and a driver accommodation base at Cue, as well as a company-owned 110,000 sq.m depot in Geraldton with 24-hour workshop and administration support.

Fenix said the transaction will deliver lower operating costs for Fenix with additional value expected from operational flexibility advantages, as well as unlocking new growth opportunities that can now be explored for the benefit of Fenix. It quantified the former as cutting FOB costs by circa-A$10/t ($6.9 t), enabling Fenix to target total C1 FOB cash costs of circa-A$70/t (wet).

Rob Brierley, Managing Director of Fenix, said: “Consolidation of Fenix-Newhaul ownership is an important strategic initiative as it immediately reduces our haulage costs. It provides Fenix with a significant advantage over our peers given haulage costs are the largest cost input for Mid-West iron ore miners.”

John Welborn, Chairman of Fenix, said: “Fenix-Newhaul is a highly profitable state-of-the-art logistics business which is an essential component of Fenix’s business success. Consolidating 100% ownership is a smart move which will reduce our costs and provide operational flexibility. These advantages will make our business significantly more resilient and robust to commodity price volatility. The transaction is a key outcome from the board’s recent strategic review and provides Fenix with a vastly improved platform to evaluate and acquire further growth opportunities.”

Hawsons Iron takes another step towards securing export for Supergrade magnetite concentrate

Mineral project development, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , ,

Hawsons Iron Ltd says it has signed a two-year option agreement to purchase three contiguous parcels of land suitable for developing an export facility for its namesake project at Myponie Point on South Australia’s eastern Spencer Gulf.

The agreement gives Hawsons the right to purchase the three blocks of land totalling 1,000 acres (405 ha), for A$14 million ($9.7 million) at any time within two years of the execution date.

A full Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) for the Hawsons Iron Project is underway and scheduled to be completed by the end of 2022. The Hawsons orebody’s softness, relative to ‘hard rock’ magnetite orebodies found in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, offers clear commercial advantage, the company says. It requires less energy during crushing and grinding to extract the magnetite concentrate, while a higher, 70% Fe grade is achieved because the ore is easily separated from impurities and waste.

The company has defined a 2012 JORC-compliant resource of 3,060 Mt at 13.1% Davis Tube Recovery (DTR) at a 6% cutoff for 400 Mt of concentrate with a planned production rate of 10-20 Mt/y over a 20-plus-year mine life.

Managing Director, Bryan Granzien, said the export facility agreement strategically underpinned the Memorandum of Understanding executed earlier with Flinders Ports Pty Ltd, moving Hawsons closer again to its goal of supplying high-grade products, essential for decarbonising steelmaking.

“This agreement secures a crucial export site required for the planning and development of our 20 Mt/y project and, importantly, provides significant additional space to accommodate expansion of the Myponie Point Port into a multi-user, bulk commodity export facility,” he said.

“Now that we have identified our port location, planning and detailed design work can continue on the deep-water port facility and the underground slurry pipeline from Broken Hill, including all approvals and land access agreements along the 392-km pipeline route.”

Granzien said Hawsons stood to gain from an opportunity to participate in the future growth of the Myponie Point Port as its ‘cornerstone’ customer by securing additional space required to support development and expansion. Myponie Point Port is expected to be ready to start exporting Hawsons’ Hawsons Supergrade® magnetite concentrate by the second half of 2024.

Rio delivers first ore from its most technologically advanced iron ore mine, Gudai-Darri

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Rio Tinto has delivered first ore from the Gudai-Darri iron ore mine as the company brings online its first greenfield mine in the Pilbara, Western Australia, in more than a decade.

Gudai-Darri, which features autonomous trucks, trains and drills, as well as the world’s first autonomous water trucks, will help underpin future production of the company’s flagship Pilbara Blend™ product, Rio says.

The first autonomous AutoHaul™ trains loaded with ore from Gudai-Darri’s process plant have travelled the new 166-km rail line that connects to Rio Tinto’s existing rail and port infrastructure. Production from the mine will continue to ramp up through the remainder of this year and is expected to reach full capacity during 2023.

Since ground was broken in April 2019, more than 14 million workhours have resulted in the movement of over 20 million cu.m of earth, batching and placement of 35,000 cu.m of concrete and the installation of 10,000 t of steel. The development of Gudai-Darri supported more than 3,000 jobs during the construction and design phase, with the mine set to support around 600 ongoing permanent roles.

With an expected life of more than 40 years and an annual capacity of 43 Mt, Gudai-Darri will underpin future production of Pilbara Blend product, the company says. A feasibility study to support an expansion of this new hub is also progressing.

The mine’s commissioning and ramp-up is expected to increase Rio Tinto’s iron ore production volumes and improve product mix from the Pilbara in the second half of this year. Full-year shipments guidance for 2022 remains at 320-335 Mt (100% basis) subject to risks around the ramp up of new mines, weather and management of cultural heritage.

The capital cost for the mine is estimated to be $3.1 billion. As disclosed in February, the company’s replacement projects in the Pilbara, including Gudai-Darri, were subject to potential capital increases of approximately 15% due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, including labour access and supply chain quality issues. Group capital expenditure guidance for 2022 is unchanged at around $8 billion.

Rio Tinto Iron Ore Chief Executive, Simon Trott, said: “The commissioning of Gudai-Darri represents the successful delivery of our first greenfield mine in over a decade, helping to support increased output of Pilbara Blend, our flagship product. It sets a new standard for Rio Tinto mine developments through its deployment of technology and innovation to enhance productivity and improve safety.

“I’d like to acknowledge the support of the Traditional Owners, the Banjima People, on whose country Gudai-Darri is situated. We have worked closely with the Banjima People to progress this project and we look forward to continuing to actively partner with them into the future.”

Rio Tinto Chief Technical Officer, Mark Davies, said: “The safe and successful delivery of Gudai-Darri, in the midst of a global pandemic, is testament to the resilience and hard work of thousands of Rio Tinto employees and contractors, including a range of local Western Australian suppliers, as well as Pilbara Aboriginal businesses.

“In building this new hub we have brought together the best of our innovations, including autonomous trucks, trains and drills, as well as the world’s first autonomous water trucks, to make Gudai-Darri our most technologically advanced iron ore mine.

“This suite of autonomous assets complements the planned deployment of other leading-edge technologies including a robotic ore sampling laboratory, field mobility devices for all personnel and a digital asset of the fixed plant, which, together with data analytics, will make Gudai Darri safer and more productive.”

Helping support Rio Tinto’s carbon emission reduction targets, Gudai-Darri will be powered by a 34 MW solar farm that is expected to supply about a third of the mine’s average electricity demand once construction is complete in August.

Together with a new lithium-ion battery energy storage system in Tom Price, the solar plant is estimated to reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions by about 90,000 t compared with conventional gas powered generation, equivalent to taking about 28,000 cars off the road.

DELKOR’s MAXGen-equipped BQR flotation cells gain traction in mineral processing space

Base metals, Energy minerals, Industrial minerals, Metallurgy, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metals, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , , , , ,

TAKRAF Group says it is registering strong demand for its new generation DELKOR BQR flotation cell, now equipped with the MAXGen mechanism for best-in-class metallurgical performance across a wide range of commodities.

Its MAXGen-equipped cells were first commercially applied at a cement works in India, in order to maximise limestone recovery. In other, more recent orders, the cells are being applied across a range of commodities with the technology selected for both its superior metallurgical performance, as well as DELKOR’s ability to provide a cost-effective and customised solution, the company said.

The string of recent orders includes 12 BQR flotation cells for a fluorspar processing plant in Spain. Here, the cells are equipped with eDART internal dart valves for the larger cells and external pinch valves for the small cell. eDART valves are known globally for their superior and safe design, TAKRAF said.

Five BQR flotation cells are also being used for the processing of iron ore in Honduras.

As part of an economically viable package, the cells were supplied with a reagent system and an air blower, as well as conductivity-type level sensors for accurate froth level detection and control, TAKRAF said.

The company also dispatched 11 BQR flotation cells for two gold mines in Australia.

Special features of this application included a dual outlet froth discharge box with dart plugs to divert the froth to different pipelines based on the metal grade of the froth. In addition, adjustable froth lips enable flexibility of froth discharge into the launders. Given the high ultraviolet (UV) levels of the environment, UV resistance paint was provided to protect the rubber lining, the company added.

In South Africa, four BQR flotation cells for iron ore recovery from a zinc, lead, silver and copper concentrator tailings stream were installed.

At this operation, a built-in cell by-pass system with external dart valves and a backpressure pipe were included in the flotation circuit. The bypass system allows bypassing of a cell for maintenance without having to shut the circuit down completely, while the rest of the cells can keep running with a proportionately reduced flow rate, TAKRAF explained. Backpressure piping ensures consistent slurry level management in the last cell, resulting in superior circuit metallurgical performance, meanwhile.

Finally, six BQR flotation cells were supplied for a nickel restart project in Australia. Features include a dual outlet froth discharge box with dart plugs, adjustable froth lips and a gearbox drive for the largest cell. UV resistant paint was also provided to protect the rubber lining.

Rajiv Krishnamurthy, Sales Manager – Europe DELKOR Products, said: “Our MAXGen mechanism is the result of extensive research and development. Our mechanism provides superior recoveries with higher mineral grade, along with faster flotation kinetics, which is achieved by generating favourable bubble size distribution and energy efficient hydrodynamics in the cell.

“Other outstanding benefits include the rotor and stator configuration, which enables the rotor to operate at a lower tip speed, reducing operational costs with lower power consumption and wear. These benefits also going a long way to supporting our group’s sustainability efforts.”

He concluded: “The demand for our new generation cells is testimony both to the excellence of our in-house developed technologies, as well as our global team’s commitment to providing our clients with a solution that exactly meets their needs. These projects are a great reference for DELKOR and serve to entrench our new generation flotation cells as a premier global flotation technology.”

Hatch identifies opportunities to cut Australian tailings generation by as much as 30%

Coal technology, Energy minerals, Environmental, Mineral processing, Mining industry recognition, Mining services, Precious metals, Steel and iron ore, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A new report from multi-disciplinary engineering, operational and development project, Hatch, estimates Australia’s mining waste can be reduced by 30% using already available technologies.

One of the biggest challenges currently facing the mining industry is managing the volume of tailings generated as minerals mining ramps up to meet the demands of the transition to renewable energy.

Undertaking an in-depth analysis to identify the technologies required to reduce or eliminate tailings of six key commodities (copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, coal and bauxite), Hatch investigated how tailings production would be impacted by applying the key technologies ‘themes’: advanced geometallurgy, ore sorting, advanced sensing and particle sorting, in-situ extraction, and preferential fracturing.

The company’s analysis revealed that technologies available today could reduce tailings by 20-30%, also identifying that, in the next 10-20 years, the integration of these technologies in future projects or expansions could provide an opportunity to reduce tailings by more than 50%.

Managing Director of Australia and Asia at Hatch, Jan Kwak (pictured), says the challenge of reducing tailings is a complex effort that is best solved utilising the innovative capacity of the entire mining supply chain.

“A balanced spread of researchers, METS (mining equipment, technology and services) companies, and operators in the mining industry are actively commercialising technologies,” he said. “Half (50%) of stakeholders identified are METS companies, whose core business is the supply of equipment and services of these technologies, indicating commercialisation is underway. This group was also present across the technologies that our analysis has shown to have higher TRLs (Technology Readiness Levels).”

The TRL ranking system measures the maturity of technologies, whereby Hatch graded technologies from zero (idea stage) to nine (commercial application).

For in-situ mining and preferential fracturing technology themes, there is a larger representation of research organisations and partnerships. This suggests collaboration is required to advance technological development, according to Hatch.

“It is vital that these stakeholders are highly engaged in the tailings reduction challenge in order to achieve the greatest cut through and introduce real change and advancement in the reduction of tailings, which will be needed to support the increase in mining activity while meeting emissions reduction targets,” added Kwak.

Metso Outotec to add to Grate Kiln iron ore pellet reference list with Oman order

Mining equipment, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , ,

Metso Outotec has signed an agreement for the delivery of engineering and key equipment for an iron ore Grate Kiln pellet plant to Vulcan Pelletizing LLC.

The plant is located in the industrial port of Sohar, the Sultanate of Oman, with the value of the order being approximately €33 million ($35 million). The pellet plant will supply pellets to Jindal Shadeed Iron & Steel LLC, Oman.

Metso Outotec’s scope of delivery consists of the supply of core pelletising plant equipment, including the traveling grate, rotary kiln and annular cooler. The design is based on the Grate Kiln plants that Metso Outotec is currently supplying for a customer in India. The plant, which is planned to produce 6 Mt/y of high-quality iron ore pellets, is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2023.

Chris Urban, Vice President, Heat Transfer Products at Metso Outotec, said: “This is the third order for a 6 Mt/y Grate-Kiln pelletising plant within the last 16 months. Metso Outotec is proud to be the Vulcan group’s selected partner in iron ore pelletising, and we look forward to propelling the Vulcan group to be a global leader with world-class pellet products.”

Metso Outotec says it is the world’s leading supplier of Grate Kiln pellet plants, with more than 50 installations globally totaling over 130 Mt/y of production.