Tag Archives: Kamal Pahuja

Metso builds out Ma’aden relationship with Mansourah & Massarah LCS contract

Metso says it has signed a two-year Life Cycle Services (LCS) contract with Ma’aden’s Base Metals and New Minerals company’s new gold processing plant at the Mansourah & Massarah site in Saudi Arabia.

Metso will support the customer in commissioning, ramping up and optimising the new greenfield site, covering both maintenance and plant operations, it says. Other elements of the agreement are field services and recommendations for wear and spare parts management, and advisory and training services.

The agreement demonstrates Metso’s service expertise, and it is an important continuation of the greenfield mineral concentrator and gold processing plant agreement signed in 2019, it said. This contract, related to Outotec at the time, saw a consortium of Outotec and Larsen & Toubro awarded with an engineering, procurement and construction contract to build a greenfield mineral concentrator and gold processing plant in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Mansourah & Massarah operation has been built in the Central Arabian gold region, with the processing plant capable of up to 4 Mt/y throughput. The concentrator and the gold processing plant has been designed to produce an average of 250,000 oz/y of gold over the life of mine.

The customer has the option to extend the contract by one year.

Kamal Pahuja, President Middle East and India market area, Metso, said: “We are very delighted with the customer’s continued trust in Metso. By choosing Metso’s Life Cycle Services contract, Ma’aden will receive comprehensive and top-notch service solutions as well as on-site technical expertise and support. We are committed to safety and sustainability objectives and will work with and support the customer in achieving their operational objectives. We are also committed to strengthening our service capabilities in the region to serve the growing customer base.”

Duncan Bradford, Executive Vice-President, Ma’aden Base Metals and Minerals BU, said: “Our aim is to lift the productivity of the new plant to the target level, strengthen the skills of our Saudi employees, and achieve our production and safety targets. The new plant will use three different methods of gold processing, including the first autoclave in Saudi Arabia; this requires a lot of know-how and proactive planning for trouble-free operation and maximum productivity. Metso already has a comprehensive range of key equipment for the plant flowsheet, and we will be able to benefit from Metso’s technological and service expertise.”

Metso Outotec to deliver bauxite grinding package to NALCO alumina refinery

Metso Outotec has been awarded a contract for the engineering and delivery of a bauxite grinding package to National Aluminium Company’s (NALCO) Damanjodi Alumina Refinery as part of NALCO’s fifth stream expansion project in Odisha, India.

Typically, the value of this type of an order is in the range of €12-15 million ($14.2-17.8 million). The order has been booked in the company’s Minerals June quarter orders received.

Metso Outotec’s delivery includes basic design of bauxite silos and engineering and supply of two ball mills with a capacity of 434 t/heach, apron feeders, agitators, slurry pumps, instrumentation, as well as site advisory services.

Kamal Pahuja, President, Middle East and India at Metso Outotec, said: “We are extremely happy to continue our co-operation with NALCO. This is the third order we have received for their current expansion project in Odisha. The other two orders include two energy-efficient flash evaporation plants and two alumina calciners along with a hydrate filtration plant.”

Metso cements Tata Steel relationship with iron ore pellet plant order

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.