Tag Archives: Iron ore

New court order could lead to shutdown of Vale’s Brucutu iron ore mine

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Vale says it has been made aware of a decision by the 22nd Civil Court of the Comarca of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, ordering the iron ore miner to stop using its Laranjeiras, Menezes II, Capitão do Mato, Dique B, Taquaras, Forquilha I, Forquilha II and Forquilha III dams.

The decision, which is within the scope of the public civil action no 5013909-51.2019.8.13.0024 filed by the Public Prosecution Office of the State of Minas Gerais, could see the company have to close the Brucutu mine (pictured) in its Minas Centrais complex, cutting some 30 Mt/y of iron ore supply.

The Brucutu unit is the largest iron mine of Minas Gerais in production, and the second largest in the country, only behind Carajás, in Pará, according to the company.

Among the dams included in the court order, three were built by the upstream method – Forquilha I, Forquilha II and Forquilha III – and were already inactive and covered by the accelerated decommissioning plan Vale previously announced to the market. The other structures, including the Laranjeiras dam at Brucutu, were built by the conventional method.

“These structures built by the conventional method have the sole purpose of sediment containment and not tailings disposal except in the case of the Laranjeiras dam,” Vale said. “All dams are duly licensed and have their respective stability reports in force. Vale therefore understands that there is no technical basis nor risk assessment to justify a decision to suspend the operation of any of these dams.”

Vale said it will adopt the “appropriate legal measures” in relation to this decision and reiterated that all the emergency measures necessary to assist the impacted people and to mitigate the impacts resulting from the breach of Dam I of the Córrego de Feijão mine are being duly adopted.

Vale currently has a fleet of Caterpillar 240 ton (218 t) 793F CMD fully autonomous trucks running at the Brucutu iron ore mine.

 

CU-River Mining looks to create South Australia bulk transhipment facility

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Flinders Power Partnership has agreed to sell CU-River Mining the former power station at Port Augusta, South Australia, with the iron ore focused company looking to turn the site into a bulk commodity, transhipment port facility.

The acquisition is expected to provide a substantial jobs boon for the Upper Spencer Gulf town, according to CU-River Mining.

Construction will start once feasibility and approvals are complete, the company said, with more than 150 people employed at peak and up to 100 permanent positions to be created once the facility is in operation.

It is expected the facility will have an initial capacity up to 15 Mt/y. However, future export potential via a multi-stage development approach, is in excess of 50 Mt/y.

It is proposed the A$250 million ($181 million) port facility will be capable of handling iron ore, grain and other commodities. Barges will be loaded at the port then sail into Spencer Gulf’s deeper water to unload onto larger, capesize vessels, which have a capacity of approximately 175,000 t.

The company expects to begin operations within two years, which will lead to the return of commercial shipping to Port Augusta for the first time in almost half a century.

The retention of key infrastructure at the site, including a 5 km rail loop and unloading systems, made the 1,068-ha site an attractive proposition for CU-River, according to External Affairs Manager, Shelaye Boothey.

“CU-River has a strong project pipeline and an ambitious growth strategy that will see it headquartered in South Australia for decades to come. The purchase of the site is a significant, strategic decision that allows CU-River to secure a direct export pathway for the 15 Mt of high-grade iron ore magnetite it plans to mine each year from 2026.

“However, it is our intention to develop the port as a multi-user facility, providing Spencer Gulf and far-north industry with further export opportunities.”

The significant size of the site means there is considerable scope for the land to be further developed for a number of commercial uses, according to Boothey.

“We will be examining the feasibility of constructing a large-scale solar farm,” she said. “However, we will be exploring every option to ensure the site’s commercial potential is maximised. Further development of the site will result in more jobs for Port Augusta, making this an exciting prospect.”

The power station ceased generation in May 2016. Since that time, Flinders Power has been responsible for the decommissioning and demolition of the power station and rehabilitation of the site. It is expected the sale of the site will be finalised in early April 2019, once remediation is complete.

CU-River plans to continue with the Community Reference Group (CRG) established by Flinders Power after it acquires the site. This will provide key stakeholders the opportunity to work collaboratively with CU-River and provide an opportunity to contribute to the future planning of the site, according to the company.

CU-River Mining aims to be an important partner to the South Australia Government by helping achieve its Magnetite Strategy goal of producing 50 Mt/y by 2030. It holds four exploration licences covering approximately 3,000 km² in broadly the same vicinity as Cairn Hill (which has a 3 Mt/y capacity). Once these resources are brought into production our goal is to produce 15 Mt/y of magnetite concentrate.

Established in 2014, the company purchased the existing Cairn Hill iron ore mine, 55 km southeast of Coober Pedy. After an extensive A$20 million upgrade, CU-River started mining in 2016,  producing and exporting 1 Mt of magnetite ore in its first 12 months of operation. Production ceased in late 2017, but the company plans to recommence mining in the middle of this year.

Vale looks to decommission upstream tailings dams following Brumadinho breach

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Vale says it has presented to the Brazilian authorities a plan to decommission all its dams built by the upstream method.

The plan aims to “de-characterise” these structures as tailings dams in order to reintegrate them into the environment, the miner said.

The move by the miner comes less than a week after reporting a breach to the tailings dam at the Feijão mine in Brumadinho, Brazil, which saw water dispersed more than 63 km from the point of breach. As at 18:00 (Brazil time) on January 27, Vale said 361 displaced people had been found, 305 people were missing and 16 fatalities were confirmed by the Instituto Médico Legal.

Vale currently has 10 dams built by the upstream method, all of which are currently inactive. All of Vale’s dams present stability reports issued by external, independent and internationally respected companies, the company said.

The miner estimates investments of around BRL5 billion ($1.3 billion) will be necessary to decommission its upstream dams and the decommissioning process will occur over the next three years.

In order to carry out the decommissioning of the upstream dams safely and quickly, Vale will temporarily halt the production of the units where the structures are located, namely: Abóboras, Vargem Grande, Capitão do Mato and Tamanduá operations, in the Vargem Grande complex; and the Jangada, Fábrica, Segredo, João Pereira and Alto Bandeira operations, in the Paraopeba complex, also including the stoppage of the Fábrica and Vargem Grande pelletising plants.

“The operation of the halted units will be resumed as the decommissioning works are completed,” it said.

The estimated impact of the production stoppage is about 40 Mt/y of iron ore. Included in this figure is the pellet feed needed for the production of 11 Mt of pellets, an impact that will be offset by the increase in production of other systems of the company, Vale said.

Vale’s 2018 iron ore production is expected to come in at 390-400 Mt, alongside 55 Mt of iron ore pellets.

The miner added that it expected to reallocate all its collaborators currently located in the operations that will be halted.

Photo caption: Vale CEO Fabio Schvartsman flies over the Brumadinho site

Baru Group wins conveyor and stacker work at Rio Tinto’s Brockman 2 iron ore mine

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Rio Tinto has awarded its 100th work package to local businesses in the Pilbara of Western Australia, as part of a programme designed to increase opportunities for companies within the state.

The programme, launched in May 2017, features an online local procurement portal to increase the visibility of upcoming work and maximises opportunities for local companies to be part of Rio Tinto’s supply chain, according to the company.

One of the most recent local businesses to secure work through the portal was indigenous-owned-and-operated civil and concrete construction company, Baru Group.

The work awarded to Baru involves an upgrade of the stackers and conveyors at Rio Tinto’s Brockman 2 operation, including earthworks and a structural upgrade to the stacker rail sleepers and conveyor foundations.

Baru, based in Karratha, is expected to complete the project by the end of 2019.

Anne Tallon, director of Baru Group, said: “Winning this work has a flow on effect for our employees and their families. Rio Tinto’s local procurement portal shows us what jobs are coming up and provides us with enough information so that we can do our own investigation into whether we can be cost competitive as well as if the scope of works are within our capabilities.

“Being successful in these opportunities means that our businesses can grow, our employees and their families can live in the towns they chose to live in, and our communities can thrive.”

Rio Tinto Iron Ore Managing Director Pilbara Mines, Stefan Buys, said: “The programme is gaining momentum and we have now received more than 3,000 expressions of interest from suppliers for work published on the online platform, the Local Procurement Portal.

“Rio Tinto aims to make a significant contribution to our local communities by making sure we provide opportunities for local businesses to benefit from our activities. Our procurement practices, and those of our contractors, help sustain many Western Australian and Pilbara-based businesses.”

NRW Holdings to start work on Rio Tinto’s Koodaideri iron ore project in April

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NRW Holdings has been awarded a bulk earthworks contract at Rio Tinto’s new ‘Intelligent Mine’, Koodaideri, in the Pilbara of Western Australia.

The A$65 million ($46 million) work of works included bulk earthworks and drainage, the ASX-listed contractor said, adding that it was expected to run for 11 months, commencing on site in April.

Koodaideri is set to deliver a new production hub for Rio’s iron ore business and is 35 km northwest of the Yandicoogina mine in the east Pilbara.

In December, it was announced that Perth-based Pindan will build a 780-room construction camp at Koodaideri as part of a A$45 million contract award.

Construction on Koodaideri Phase 1 will start this year with first production expected in late 2021. Once complete, the $2.6 billion mine will have an annual capacity of 43 Mt, underpinning production of the company’s flagship iron ore product, Pilbara Blend.

In addition to mine infrastructure and the accommodation camp, an airport and mine support facilities will be built. Throughout the construction period, Rio expects to employ over 2,000 people with 600 permanent roles created once the mine is operational.

Metso cements Tata Steel relationship with iron ore pellet plant order

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Metso has won a “significant order” to deliver a large-scale iron ore pellet plant and related engineering services to Tata Steel for the expansion of the Kalinganagar operation (pictured), in Odisha state, India.

The order was booked in Metso’s December quarter orders received, the mining OEM said.

The new pellet plant will be equipped with capability to use a dual fuel burner and a burner management system to enable the use of iron ore feed from different sources. This will optimise the overall cost of production, including the fuel type and consumption, according to Metso.

Victor Tapia, President, Metso’s Mining Equipment business area, said: “Metso and Tata Steel have a history of more than 25 years of successful cooperation. We take this much-valued partnership and the confidence in our knowhow as clear indicators that we have been able to meet their business needs in a fast-changing business environment. In line with our value proposition, we will assist Tata Steel in minimising fuel consumption and reducing their carbon footprint in pellet production.”

Tata is among the largest steel-producing companies globally, with manufacturing operations in 26 countries and crude deliveries of about 28 Mt in 2017. Operational since 2015, the Kalinganagar plant is one of Tata Steel’s key manufacturing locations in India, Metso says.

Kamal Pahuja, SVP Indian market area at Metso, said: “Working together with Tata Steel over the years, we have developed a strong understanding of their business and of what adds value to their operation; this understanding helps us to deliver the required performance. On that account, we were able to design a pelletising solution that enables the lowest cost per tonne of pellet produced while providing flexibility for varying qualities of feed to optimise the production quality and rate.”

Metso says it is the leading player in pelletising in India. This order is the company’s first iron ore pellet plant solution for Tata Steel.

Last year, Metso reported its largest-ever pellet plant delivery to JSW Steel.

Vale after more cost savings with development of artificial intelligence centre

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Vale’s is today inaugurating its Artificial Intelligence Center in Vitória (Espírito Santo state, Brazil), a centre aimed at improving maintenance, processes, and environmental, health and safety compliance controls.

The facility, which will develop and monitor AI initiatives from the company’s units across several countries, has already saved the company more than $20 million/y, and another $37 million is expected to come from initiatives already underway.

“The benefits derive from improving maintenance of assets (from off-highway trucks to railroad tracks), improving management of processes in pelletising and ore processing plants, as well as enhancing environmental, health and safety and compliance controls,” Vale said.

Hélio Mosquim, the IT Innovation executive manager, said the new centre will “intensify the integration and collaboration” among those people responsible for different projects.

“Also, this initiative will promote the exchange of experiences and knowledge, increasing synergy among teams and generating results on a global scale. Most features developed for one project can be applied to others,” he said.

The centre is located at the Tubarão unit, in Vitória, which comprises eight pelletising plants, the operational centre of Vitória Minas railroad, and four port terminals distributed across 14 km². Some 50 professionals – including data scientists and engineers as well as business experts – are exclusively dedicated to Vale’s AI projects. Vale has 15 of them working at the new centre to support thousands of assets (such as trucks, excavators, trains, conveyor belts, etc), among other tasks.

“Broadly speaking, AI is the ability of machines to simulate the human decision-making process and perform complex tasks normally requiring human intelligence,” Vale said. “It is part of a variety of systems – from those used for recommendations on shopping sites to stand-alone cars. Vale uses AI systems to collect and analyse millions of data from its projects, generating insights that will help predict problems and influence decision making.”

Vale’s teams are currently working on 13 lines of projects carried out alongside some of the company’s corporate and business areas covering ferrous metals, base metals, and coal.

Vale’s Digital Transformation Director, Afzal Jessa, said: “artificial intelligence has the potential to generate value for all business areas of the company. We’re taking another important step towards digital transformation to increase productivity and operational efficiency, achieve the highest levels of health and safety, improve our financial performance and drive innovation.”

Vale’s digital transformation programme is expected to generate gains in all business areas. In iron ore, in particular, it shall reduce the cost of production by $0.50/t until 2023.

The programme is based on improving asset performance, optimising maintenance, increasing workforce efficiency, and integrating the value chain. Technological innovations developed by the company include the Internet of Things, AI, mobile applications, robotisation and autonomous equipment (such as trucks and drills).

Vale outlined six examples of projects being developed in the new centre:

  1. Rail fracture prevention – One of the high-impact projects being developed at Carajás railroad (Estrada de Ferro de Carajás) is focused on predicting rail fracture, which is one of the most common occurrences and most serious for the operation. Data generated by the railroads uncovered a solution that identifies the occurrence of one or more fractures in a specific rail branch. In addition to increased operating security, the solution decreases railroad shutdowns to repair fractured rails.
  2. Train wheel-set maintenance – A set of sensors installed by the railroad called waysides monitor the wear as well as impact of wheel-sets, temperature and noise of bearings, as well as displacements of the bogie (an important part of the railroad car). By cross-checking the data generated by these sensors with information from other systems, mathematical models were created to allow the maintenance team to predict the behaviour of wheel-sets in the following 30 days. Based on this information, the team can plan the purchase and maintenance of assets, thus extending their useful life. In the first year, the programme generated savings of BRL2.3 million ($624,019) – about 10 times the amount invested in its implementation.
  3. Maintenance of mine assets – Collection of data generated by mine equipment, such as off-highway trucks, excavators and loaders, as well as use of AI techniques. A project implemented at Salobo mine, in Pará, increased the useful life of off-highway truck tires by approximately 30% in one year. These projects have produced $8 million in savings.
    Another project addresses the increase of useful life and prevention of premature failure of powertrains on off-highway trucks and other mobile assets of the mine, such as loaders and excavators. This is one of Vale’s major projects, involving 15 operations in Brazil, Canada and Mozambique. Sixty per cent of the company’s off-highway trucks already use this system. The approved potential of savings amounts to more than BRL2 million.
  4. Reduction of fuel consumption – A partnership between Vale’s operational areas and researchers of the University of Queensland, Australia, helped the company’s data scientists develop a system to reduce the fuel used by off-highway trucks. Tests conducted in the state of Minas Gerais showed the project can potentially reduce the diesel consumption.
  5. Pelletising process optimization – Data generated during production of pellets were analysed using AI techniques and generated several insights as well as recommendations on ideal operational conditions for the pelletising plants. These process improvements generated $3 million in savings per year in one of the plants, in Vitória. The gains came from a 7% reduction in variable costs by improving the balance between the coal and natural gas used in the process and reducing the use of electric power, among other factors.
  6. Data analysis to avoid safety incidents – Started in 2017 in partnership with the health and safety area, the project analyses the demographic profile of employees to evaluate which ones are more exposed to accidents. The data generated is combined with historical accidents, near misses, and unsafe conditions of the localities. The system uses this information to calculate the probability of incidents occurring in each area in a specific period of time – in a week, for example – as well as its current risk, enabling to evaluate whether the employees’ risk exposure in the work environment has increased or decreased. Then, it is possible to prioritise the activities of health and safety professionals.

TAKRAF wins three orders from India steel, energy, cement and infrastructure group

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A manufacturing group in India has selected Tenova TAKRAF to supply a slew of equipment in the country, the equipment manufacturer has said.

In the past few months, the group awarded three separate orders to TAKRAF India for the supply of equipment to the group’s operations across India. “These awards serve to boost TAKRAF’s association with an important global group and their rapid growth plans,” the company said.

The three recent projects include:

  • A combined stacker/reclaimer: As part of the proposed stockyard system for one of the group’s iron ore mines, TAKRAF is designing and supplying a stacker/bucketwheel reclaimer with a stacking and reclaiming capacity of 2,500 t/h;
  • Two large-sized portal scraper reclaimers: As a part of an integrated steel plant’s expansion plan (from 5 Mt/y to 10 Mt/y), TAKRAF is supplying and installing two large-sized portal scraper reclaimers for handling iron ore/coal/flux. The machines will travel on a 49 m rail gauge and deliver 1,800 t/h, Takraf said;
  • Two large-sized bucketwheel reclaimers: In assisting the group in expanding part of its port handling facilities, TAKRAF is supplying and installing two large-sized bucketwheel reclaimers. Each of these identical machines will handle iron ore, dolomite, coal and limestone with a peak capacity of 6,000 t/h each.

K Gopal, TAKRAF India Managing Director, said: “These projects are a testimony to the engineering design, capability and quality of the products TAKRAF is able to deliver and we look forward to working with our partners in achieving their global growth plans.”

Alderon Iron Ore and Schneider Electric working on ‘fully digital advanced mine’

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Alderon Iron Ore and the Kami Mine Limited Partnership (The Kami LP) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Schneider Electric Canada related to the both acquisition of equipment and development funding for the Kami iron ore project, in western Labrador, Canada.

Tayfun Eldem, Alderon’s President and CEO, said: “We have chosen Schneider Electric because of their vast array of product and service offerings in power and energy management, process control and mine digitisation. The Kami LP will leverage Schneider Electric’s sustainable solutions to optimise energy usage and operating costs for the Kami project’s mining and processing operations.”

Eldem said this partnership could potentially reduce capital spending and equipment cost targets from its September 2018 updated feasibility study, tap into a broader range of export credit agencies (ECA) and accelerate the project schedule.

The September 2018 feasibility study envisaged a capital cost of $982.41 million for an operation producing 7.84 Mt/y of 65.2% Fe concentrate at an average estimated operating cost of $30.72/t. it also envisaged a 26 month construction period.

Alderon said the MoU provides for The Kami LP to evaluate the lease or purchase of equipment from Schneider Electric for use at Kami, a project owned 75% by Alderon and 25% by HBIS Group through The Kami LP.

It also provides for Schneider Electric to assist The Kami LP in its capital raising efforts by making introductions and facilitating discussions with potential financing sources for the Kami project, including funding from ECAs in regions where Schneider Electric manufactures its equipment.

“This assistance is expected to help The Kami LP raise the capital required to start construction of the Kami project,” Alderon said.

David Willick, Schneider Electric’s Vice President and Mining, Metals and Minerals Segment Leader in North America, said: “We are pleased to be a part of the Kami project and look forward to helping Alderon create an efficient and fully digital advanced mine, using our EcoStruxure architecture.”

The EcoStruxure platform is the “digital backbone connecting best-in-class operational technology solutions with the latest in IT technology to unlock trapped value in your operations and tap into the true potential of the Internet of Things”, Schneider says.

The Kami LP and Schneider Electric need to enter into definitive documentation in order for the transactions set out in the MoU to proceed, including agreements for the purchase of equipment.

Downer wins five-year rail renewal services contract with Rio Tinto

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Downer has recently been awarded the preferred supplier role for a five-year rail renewal services contract with Rio Tinto.

The five-year contract, with options to extend for a further five years, builds on the work the company has been delivering for Rio Tinto’s Iron Ore division, including tyre management and track construction. Work has already commenced, according to Downer.

Executive General Manager of Downer’s Infrastructure Projects, Mark Mackay, said: “Our values very strongly align to Rio’s values when it comes to safety, delivery, thought leadership and relationships – this includes how we build and grow relationships and partnerships with local suppliers, contractors and the local community. For example, this new work will see us set a target of 35% local content, including partnerships with local business to develop a Pilbara rail workshop facility as well as the delivery of rail training to improve the skills and capability of local suppliers.”

Matt Baartz, General Manager – Rail Maintenance at Rio Tinto Iron Ore, confirmed Downer has been identified as the preferred supplier for inland renewals, adding: “Downer has a strong safety record and has performed well over a sustained period of time working across Rio Tinto.”