Tag Archives: Mechel

Mechel spends $54 million on new equipment, ‘mechanisms’ to boost output

Coal technology, Equipment maintenance, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services

Mechel says its mining facilities received a total of some 270 equipment units, including more than 80 large-scale machines and assembly units, in 2021.

The most sweeping technical revamps and retrofits involved Southern Kuzbass Coal Company, which received more than 100 new equipment units, including heavy-duty trucks, bulldozers and service equipment. All mobile equipment uses an online dispatch system implemented by Southern Kuzbass Coal Company, which ensures improved performance and work efficiency, the company said. The new machines take part in transporting overburden, as well as moving coal from the mines to the washing plants and shipping points.

Southern Kuzbass Coal Company’s washing plants launched a total of 39 new equipment units.

Yakutugol Holding Company launched 74 new equipment units, including heavy-duty trucks, an excavator and “gondola railcars” for transporting loose cargo. Due to complicated geological conditions at the Neryungrinsky open pit, this year the company made sure to revamp pumping equipment to pump ground water and prevent flooding at mining areas. Neryungrinskaya Washing Plant installed two new centrifuges to eliminate excess water from the coal concentrate and three magnetic roughers. The plant also continued with the sweeping upgrade of its mud pump stock.

Ninety equipment units, including heavy-duty trucks, excavators and a boring rig, were bought for Korshunov Mining Plant. This equipment is used to transport ore from Korshunovsky open pit, mining at Korshunovsky and Rudnogorsky open pits, even in extremely low temperatures. Korshunov’s washing plant launched new pumps as well as a press for curing conveyors. The plant also received new hydro separators.

“We invested approximately 4 billion rubles ($54 million) into acquiring new mining equipment and mechanisms, and, next year, we plan to invest 8 billion rubles,” Mechel PAO’s Chief Executive Officer, Oleg Korzhov, said. “We are faced with a strategic task to restore stripping pace, increase mining and washing volumes. This new equipment will enable us to reduce outages caused by repairs, and boost output at our facilities in Irkutsk Region, Yakutia and Kuzbass.

“Considering steady demand and favourable price trends on commodity markets that we see over the past several quarters, it is very important for us to ensure production growth.”

Mechel’s Southern Kuzbass Coal Company launches new longwall

Coal technology, Mine operation news, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , ,

Mechel, one of Russia’s leading mining and steel companies, has launched a new longwall at the Southern Kuzbass Coal Company-owned V.I. Lenina underground mine in Russia.

Investment in the new longwall totalled around RUB470 million ($6.4 million), the company said.

The new longwall #0-16-10’s reserves are estimated at 435,000 t, with the average seam height coming in at 1.8 m. The longwall is nearly 200 m long with an extraction panel of 720 m.

The longwall is equipped with a 134-section powered support system, a cutter-loader, as well as a crusher, longwall conveyor and belt conveyor, Mechel said. All the longwall’s equipment is compliant with modern industrial and labour safety requirements, it added.

“V.I. Lenina Underground Mine’s reserves consist of coking coal with excellent quality characteristics, which is high in demand with coke producers,” Mechel Mining Management’s Chief Executive Officer, Igor Khafizov, said. “Southern Kuzbass Coal Company will be working this new longwall for eight months. The concentrate we will produce from its coal will be marketed both domestically and internationally.”

New longwall launched at Mechel’s Sibirginskaya coal mine

Coal technology, Mine operation news, Mineral project development, Mining project news, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , ,

Mechel PAO says its Southern Kuzbass Coal Company unit has launched a new longwall at the Sibirginskaya underground coal mine, in Russia.

The new longwall 3-1-11 is located 450 m underground at Sibirginskaya, is 220 m long, has an average seam height of 4 m and an extraction panel of 750 m. Investment in the project totalled over 838 million rubles ($12.9 million), Mechel said.

The longwall is equipped with a cutter-loader, a belt car and crusher, drag bar conveyor, a 400- and a 1,500-m belt conveyors, and a 130-section powered support system, according to Mechel To ensure high production efficiency and labour safety, the mine also acquired a mobile vacuum air pump degasser, it said.

The longwall launch follows the startup of another new longwall at the VI Lenina underground mine in August.

“The longwall 3-1-11 with estimated coking coal reserves of 3.5 Mt is equipped with the newest mining machines acquired as part of Mechel’s investment program. Its planned monthly output is 90,000 t,” Mechel Mining Management OOO’s Chief Executive Officer, Igor Khafizov, said.

Mechel’s Trade Port Posiet tests out thyssenkrupp coal storage sprinkler system

Bulk handling, Coal technology, Environmental, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , ,

Trade Port Posiet, part of Mechel Group’s transport division (managed by Mecheltrans Management Co), has started testing specialised equipment to suppress dust at the port’s outdoor coal storage areas in Russia.

The port acquired a stationary sprinkler system for coal storage from thyssenkrupp as part of its technical upgrade investment project. This system consists of 22 automatic sprinklers that operate “as natural rain” and ensures year-round dust suppression in the production area. The system’s water discharge rate is up to 96 cu.m/h.

The first four sprinklers have been assembled, connected to a 2.9-km trunk pipeline and checked for pressure integrity, according to Mechel. After these tests, the port’s staff pronounced the first sprinkler line ready for launch. To prevent mechanical damage, the port constructed concrete safety barriers separating the sprinklers and haul roads.

The launching of the stationary sprinkler system at the port’s storage areas is the latest stage of the company’s efforts to upgrade the port’s infrastructure and reduce its environmental impact, Mechel said. It is due to be launched in the March quarter.

Mecheltrans Management Company OOO’s Chief Executive Officer, Alexey Lebedev, said: “A work zone sprinkler system is an efficient instrument widely used in specialised terminals dealing with loose goods. What is important is that the sprinkler system will be managed from a central dispatch. A special program will determine the sprinkler operating algorithm that would be the most effective in suppressing dust at any given moment.

“In addition, the trans-shipment complex’s operator will finetune the sprinkler system’s work, depending on the wind’s strength and vector, the state of handled coal and other factors. This way we will ensure accurate control of the dust suppression system.”

Trade Port Posiet’s technical upgrade project includes various ways of reducing the port’s impact on the environment. Coal is currently unloaded by railcar dumpers in a closed space equipped with de-dusting systems that rule out the chance of dust escaping into the open air. In the winter, railcars with thawed coal are moved after defrosting into the railcar dumper facility via a covered conveyor gallery. Coal transfer stations are also equipped with de-dusting systems. Conveyor lines are additionally equipped with metal galleries to protect the environment from coal dust. As coal is transferred into storage areas, it is moistened by a water dispersion system installed on stacker/reclaimers.

Mechel Group’s investments into creating a computerised terminal at Port Posiet exceed RUB4 billion ($61 million). The port’s trans-shipment capacity enables the company to export up to 9 Mt/y of coal.

Mechel testing out polymer-coated cable ropes on Russia mining excavators

Coal technology, Equipment maintenance, Mining equipment, Steel and iron ore, , , , , ,

Mechel’s Beloretsk Metallurgical Plant (BMP) is conducting field tests of its new polymer-coated cable ropes at Southern Kuzbass Coal’s (SKC) coal pits and Korshunov Mining Plant’s (KMP) iron ore operations, both in Russia, the company has said.

The cable ropes have already demonstrated a good enough performance for BMP to confirm it will start producing these cables on an industrial scale early in 2019.

The ropes will replace imported counterparts in the mining and oil industries, as well as engineering, bridge- and shipbuilding, Mechel said.

When field-tested on SKC’s EGK-20 excavator, a 57 mm polymer-coated cable rope worked for over six months. It has been used since February through August in temperatures ranging from -45°C to +35°C. During this time, the excavator loaded 1.04 million cubic metres of ore, with the rope’s running time more than doubling.

SKC, a subsidiary of Mechel, is still testing a 52 mm cable rope, which was installed at an EKG-12 coal-loading excavator in early July. The rope has already worked for 55 days, with an average service life of 60 days typical for uncoated ropes on this type of excavator.

“The polymer coating is still in good shape and the rope is still being used,” Mechel said.

Meanwhile, 45.5 mm cable ropes are being tested at KMP’s iron ore mines. These were installed on an EKG-8I excavator’s hoisting, thrust and recoil gear in February.

“The ropes have already worked for 183 days, running an accumulated 477,000 cu.m. This is 67% more than the running time for uncoated hoisting cables, 95% more than uncoated recoil cables and more than double…uncoated thrust cables,” Mechel said.

BMP CEO Viktor Kamelin said: “The results we received lay the groundwork for our presentation we show to both Russian mining facilities and those in the neighbouring countries. Our new products have excited interest and we already have preliminary agreements on delivery of test batches.”

The plant has been implementing a project to replace imported multi-strand cable ropes since 2015 with the support of Russia’s Industrial Development Fund and the Republic of Bashkortostan’s government.

BMP plans to produce six to 12-strand cable ropes up to 90 mm in diameter, including those with a polymer coating.