Metso Outotec to modernise Norilsk Nickel’s Nadezhda smelting line
Less pollution expected as Nornickel resumes sulfuric acid production in
Monchegorsk
On 23 December, the day before Christmas Eve, the Russian smelter in
Nikel is shutting down for good
India's Vedanta
loses appeal to reopen copper plant
Codelco to stop
Chuqui smelter
Sulfuric acid leak closes Sudbury roadways
Chinalco’s general manager: Blind copper smelting capacity expansion
should be strictly curbed
Katanga postpones acid plant commissioning
Worley Notes Shell Awards Contracts for Indonesian Sulfuric Acid Plant
China copper smelter Guangxi Nanguo declares force majeure amid
coronavirus
Glencore lifts cobalt output
Waning sulphuric acid demand threatens China copper output amid virus
lockdown
Morocco’s fertilizer producer OCP eyes Romanian
market
December 17, 2020 - Metso Outotec has been awarded a landmark
contract by PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel to modernise one of the company’s
two existing smelting lines at their Nadezhda Metallurgical Plant in
Norilsk, Russia. The contract value is approximately €90 million
($110 million), and the order has been booked in Metso Outotec’s
December quarter 2020 order intake. Metso Outotec’s contract
includes engineering and delivery of a nickel flash smelting furnace and
a heat recovery boiler with related automation and advanced digital
products. Replacing the existing smelting line with the latest
process technology and furnace structures will significantly increase
the line’s capacity and availability, reduce metal losses and ease
maintenance, according to the mining OEM. The new line will also allow
for the easy connection and efficient operation with potential future
sulphuric acid production and neutralisation projects. The delivery of
the equipment will take place during the first half of 2022.
Sergey Dubovitsky, Senior Vice President, Strategy, Strategic Projects,
Logistics & Procurement at Norilsk Nickel, said: “Metso Outotec is a
long-term partner of Norilsk Nickel, supplying state-of-the-art
equipment and technologies. Our cooperation allows us to solve the most
important production and technological issues, such as increasing the
reliability and efficiency of production.” Jari Ålgars, President
of Metso Outotec’s Metals business area, added: “Norilsk Nickel operates
the world’s largest nickel and palladium deposit in Russia. We are very
committed to our long partnership with Norilsk Nickel, and we are
pleased to have been awarded the contract to modernise their smelting
line at Nadezhda. Our unique process expertise and sustainable
technologies enable the design and delivery of a world-class smelting
process that meets today’s and future production requirements.”
Metso Outotec is a leading supplier of smelting technology, with about
40 operational smelting lines around the world. The company claims its
Flash Smelting Process is the cleanest smelting method available, giving
high recovery of metals with low investment and operating costs.
Less pollution expected as Nornickel resumes sulfuric acid
production in Monchegorsk
December 4, 2020 -
After a year with several smog incidents damaging the nature surrounding
the factories, the company now launches several projects aimed at making
the skies blue. Kola GMK, the subsidiary of Nornickel in
the Murmansk region, will over the next three years invest 7,8 billion
ruble (€85 million) in clean-production technologies. In 2000, the
sulfuric acid department at the nickel refinery was decommissioned. Now,
this production will be resumed after an upgrade and re-equipment.
“Thanks to the new sulfuric acid separation system, we plan to reduce
emissions of sulfur-containing gases by more than 400 tons per year,”
said Maxim Ryabushkin, Chief Engineer of Kola GMK in a statement.
He assures that the new equipment will be more advanced and reliable,
and with a higher efficiency than the production shut down 20 years ago.
As an example, the old metal pipelines and acid collectors will be
replaced with new ones made of acid-resistant durable polymeric
materials. The new sulfuric acid production will be up and running
by 2023, the company informs. In 2017, Kola GMK said it restarted
an old sulfuric acid production line at its smelter in Nikel near the
border to Norway. It was then said higher content of sulfur in the
briquets from a modernized plant in Zapolyarny made it easier to collect
the sulfur and make sulfuric acid out of it. In Nikel, the smelter
will shut down this Christmas and production will then be moved to
Monchegorsk where the modernization now will happen. The nickel refining
plant here is the world’s largest. A common filtration system
aimed at capturing the smoke and sulfur aerosols will be installed, so
less smog will be discharged from the chimneys. Also by 2023,
auxiliary equipment for purifying process gases are to be installed at
the fluidized bed furnaces in the refining shop of the plant. This
summer and autumn, the Barents Observer has on several occations
reported about thick smog covering kilometers after kilometers of
fragile taiga forest west of the factories in Monchegorsk, a two-hour
drive south of Murmansk in the Russian north.
On 23 December, the day before Christmas Eve, the Russian smelter in
Nikel is shutting down for good
November 24, 2020 - The Russian
smelter in Nikel is shutting down on 23 December,according
to Norwegian broadcaster NRK. The Russian smelter has caused
Sulphur clouds to drift in across Finnmark, Norway for decades.
“Emissions will stop and we expect a significant improvement of the
environmental situation”, says Tatiana Yegorova, Head of Communications
at the Russian industrial enterprise NorNickel, which operates the Nikel
smelter, toNRK.
In the 1980’s, the plant spewed out some 400,000 tons of Sulphur dioxide
annually. In recent years, emissions have been down to somewhat 80,000
tons, though that is nevertheless still five times as much as Norway’s
accumulated emissions. While the Nikel smelter is shutting down,
operations will continue in Montchegorsk further east. When news
broke last autumn about a potential shutting down, about 800 persons in
Nikel ran the risk of losing their jobs. One year later, it is clear
that many of the workers will be transferred to Montchegorsk and
Zapolyarny. In addition, 285 of the employees have agreed to early
retirement, according to Yegorova of NorNickel.
India's Vedanta loses appeal to reopen copper plant
Codelco to stop Chuqui smelter
June 29, 2020 - Chile’s state copper company Codelco has decided to shut down
its Chuquicamata copper smelter and refinery in the Antofagasta region
of northern Chile as a preventative measure against the spread of the
COVID-19 virus.The smelter produced 321,000 tonnes of copper
in 2018. In addition to reducing copper production, the decision will
also reduce the production of sulphuric acid which is used to leach
copper at other operations.The suspension follows less than a week after
Codelco suspended work on projects at its Chuquicamata division to
prevent the movement of people from other regions into the area and to
reduce the overall number of workers and contractors.The Chuquicamata division includes the
Chuquicamata, Ministro Hales and Radomiro Tomic mines which together
produced more than 803,000 tonnes of copper in 2019 and employ almost
7,000 people. Since May, the company had already reduced the number of
people working by 30%.Chile's copper production has fallen by about
5% from the 500,000 tonnes per month run rate it had at the end of 2019,
according to figures from S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Sulfuric acid leak closes Sudbury roadways
June 6, 2020 - In the early morning of June 6,
a Glencore contracted tanker spilled sulfuric acid across highway 17
resulting in road closures in the Garson, Falconbridge area. The
spill resulted in the closure of the highway 17 bypass, from highway's
east end and Garson, Coniston Road to Falconbridge. Some roadways
in the Falconbridge area may also experience traffic disruptions.Greater
Sudbury Police and Fire Services say there is no danger to the public
but were advising residents who live in the area to avoid touching or
driving over any liquid found on or abutting the roadway."Road closures
will remain in effect while inspections are completed and any required
cleanup occurs. This work is expected to continue overnight," said a
city official in statement early Saturday morning."Greater Sudbury Fire
Services is working closely with partners at the Greater Sudbury Police
Service, Ontario Provincial Police and Glencore in response to this
incident."Roadways closed due to the spill have now been reopened.
Chinalco’s general manager:
Blind copper smelting capacity expansion should be strictly curbed
May 22, 2020 - Blind expansion
of copper smelting capacity in China should be strictly curbs to
facilitate high-quality development of the copper industry, said Yu
Dehui, Chinalco’s general manager and member of the National Committee
of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the country’s
top political advisory body. Structural contradictions of China’s
copper smelting sector have intensified overcapacity woes, heightened
reliance on foreign ore and boosted environmental pressure, Yu Thursday
told China Nonferrous Metals News on the sidelines of the annual meeting
of China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress. China’s
refined copper capacity in China reached 12.59 million mt per year in
2019, while investment in the sector grew 40.9%. Production of refined
copper for the year was 9.78 million mt, pointing to a capacity
utilisation rate of just 77%, according to Yu. The capacity is
expected to expand to 14.22 million mt per year in 2021, widening the
glut. China’s copper concentrate self-sufficiency rate, meanwhile,
has fallen to 22.8%, from 43.25% in 2000. Yu also mentioned
sulphuric acid overcapacity woes, which sparked the risks of storage
filling up amid the COVID-19 outbreak earlier this year.
Katanga postpones acid plant
commissioning
March 31, 2020 – TSX-listed Katanga Mining is closely monitoring the
progress of the spread of Covid-19 and is taking measures to contain the
impact thereof on the health of its employees and operations.
Meanwhile, as previously announced, Katanga’s 75%-owned subsidiary
Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) entered into an agreement with KCC’s 25%
shareholder, Democratic Republic of Congo- (DRC-) owned La Générale des
Carrières et des Mines to acquire from Gécamines a comprehensive land
package covering areas adjacent to KCC’s existing mining concessions for
$250-million. None of this had been paid as at February 13, 2020.
The land includes multiple blocks for construction of a new long-term
tailings facility and the possible exploitation of additional resources
that would enhance KCC’s ability to more efficiently operate its mines
and facilities and fulfil other key infrastructure requirements. The
agreement provides for an initial payment of $150-million from KCC to
Gécamines, which had been postponed, and, as a result, the agreement was
treated as an executory contract and the commitments of $250-million
were disclosed as capital commitments in the 2019 annual financial
statements. Engagement with Gécamines and the DRC authorities
regarding the initial payment has been ongoing. KCC has received
an injunction order from the General Prosecutor of the Court of Appeal
of Kinshasa that orders KCC not to make any payment to Gécamines,
pending the conclusion of an investigation by the General Prosecutor
relating to Gécamines’ executives. After reviewing all of its
options, KCC has provided notice to Gécamines that the order constitutes
a force majeure under the agreement and that its obligations under the
agreement are suspended. Additionally, the company has continued
to progress toward the commissioning of its previously disclosed
sulphuric acid, sulphur dioxide production and steam turbine generator
project at KCC. However, the acid plant’s commissioning is now
delayed as a result of the inability to mobilise necessary commissioning
experts to site owing to Covid-19. The acid plant is expected to
be commissioned in the second half of this year, rather than in the
first half of the year.
Worley Notes Shell Awards Contracts for Indonesian Sulfuric Acid Plant
March 31, 2020 - Worley noted that
Shell Global Solutions International BV (Shell) has awarded the Company
two contracts for PT Pertamina EP Cepu's (PEPC) new sulfuric acid plant
in Indonesia. The plant is part of the Jambaran-Tiung Biru unitized gas
field project for PEPC, a subsidiary of PT Pertamina (Persero),
Indonesia's state-owned energy company. Under the contracts, it will
supply Chemetics proprietary Cooled Oxidation Reactor (CORE) technology.
This is the first time Chemetics proprietary CORE sulfuric acid
technology will be applied in combination with Shell's proven Cansolv
SO2 capture technology, which will provide a new type of sulfuric acid
plant that is specifically optimized for high SO2 concentrations.
China copper smelter Guangxi Nanguo declares
force majeure amid coronavirus
February 7, 2020 - A copper smelter in Southwest
China has declared force majeure on deliveries of copper concentrate,
two sources briefed on the matter said on Friday, as a coronavirus
outbreak in the country heightened fears about a hit to demand.
Guangxi Nanguo Copper, with production capacity of 300,000 tonnes per
year, is the first smelter in China to declare force majeure following
the virus epidemic, which has killed more than 600 people and sparked
concerns about copper demand in the world’s biggest consumer of the
metal. One of the sources, with a major bank, said the force
majeure related to copper concentrate cargoes that had not been
nominated or had letters of credit issued. “So it’s not really a
credit issue ... just that as production is being cut down there is less
need to take material.” “With various places sealed off and
traffic control in connection with the virus, I think there is ground to
raise force majeure,” the source added. A second mining source
said he had heard from other main suppliers to Guangxi Nanguo about the
force majeure. His company did not supply much concentrates to the
smelter and hence did not directly receive the notice. Lackluster
demand for sulphuric acid, a byproduct of copper production, due to
factory closures including those in the manufacturing hub and epicenter
of coronavirus Hubei means many copper smelters are exacted to cut
production. Copper smelters will reduce production by more than
15% in February from the previous month, Chinese research house Antaike
said earlier this week, citing high stocks of byproduct sulphuric acid
and logistical constraints that could force output cuts. Three
other sources, including one at Nanguo supplier China Minmetals Corp
[CHMIN.UL], said the company had asked for shipments to be delayed but
were unsure if there had been an official force majeure declaration. A
Minmetals spokesman was unaware of the matter. The second of these
sources, who also supplies concentrate into China, said Nanguo was on
maintenance in January and decided to ask for deliveries to be suspended
due to the virus, a lack of manpower and transportation problems.
The third source, another supplier to Nanguo, said the firm had
temporarily shut production but could resume next week. Calls to
Guangxi Nanguo, which only started up its smelter last year, went
unanswered on Friday and the company did not immediately respond to an
emailed request for comment.www.reuters.com
Glencore lifts cobalt output
February 5, 2020 - The world’s biggest cobalt miner produced 10
per cent more of the metal last year thanks to increased output from one
of its mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Glencore said
cobalt production had risen to 46,300 tonnes, primarily thanks to its
Katanga mine. This more than offset the impact of its decision to
mothball its Mutanda mine in the same country. The Ivan
Glasenberg-headed Glencore, based in Switzerland and listed in London,
is one of the world’s biggest mining companies. It reported net income
of $US3.4bn ($5.02bn) in 2018 from producing commodities including
copper, cobalt, zinc and coal, and from substantial trading operations.
Glencore also operates coal mines in Australia. Glencore produces
cobalt as a by-product of copper at Katanga and Mutanda and also
produces copper at Mopani in Zambia. Its African copper and cobalt
operations are seen as a key growth area, with the metals forecast to be
in increasing demand for electric vehicles. However, the
operations have faced difficulties, including corruption investigations
in Congo and safety issues. Glencore is seeking to turn the business
around. The miner decided in August to mothball Mutanda by the end
of the year owing to lower prices for cobalt, as well as higher costs
and taxes in the country. It then shut it down early in November amid
problems sourcing sulfuric acid. Glencore said that copper
production had fallen by 6 per cent to 1.37 million tonnes, with about
half of the decline stemming from its African copper business after the
shutdown at Mutanda and a smelter refurbishment at Mopani. This was
partly offset by the increase in output from Katanga. Analysts at
Credit Suisse said: “Katanga’s copper output remains consistent and
Mopani is … beginning to heat up.”
www.theaustralian.com.au
February 4, 2020 - Factory closures due to the coronavirus outbreak in
China, including in epicentre Hubei, are sapping demand for sulphuric
acid, a byproduct of copper production, and will likely see smelters cut
output, industry sources said on Tuesday.Prices for
sulphuric acid, mostly used in fertilisers, have more than halved since
December's outbreak, which has now claimed more than 400 lives in China
and sparked concerns over the impact on copper demand in the world's
biggest consumer of the metal.Hubei, which accounts
for 20% of China's sulphuric acid consumption, according to an official
at Hubei-based smelter Daye Nonferrous Metals Group, has told businesses
not to return to work until at least Feb. 14, while other Chinese
regions have extended the Lunar New Year holiday through this week."As a result, there is huge pressure on the sulphuric acid sales
of copper smelters" and their copper production will be affected, the
Daye Nonferrous source said, adding that there would be a knock-on
effect on China's copper concentrate imports and treatment and refining
charges (TC/RCs).Copper smelters produce around one
tonne of sulphuric acid for every tonne of copper concentrate consumed.Transport restrictions around Hubei are having a small impact on
Daye's own inbound concentrate shipments, the source said, adding that
Daye itself has not yet cut output.But if weak acid
sales persist for another month or two, the 600,000 tonnes per year
smelter may have to run at only 70-80% of capacity, said the source, who
declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter."High acid stock could impact cathode production," said He
Tianyu, a copper analyst with CRU, adding that logistics were a "big
problem" for China's copper industry at the moment.A
source at Jiangxi Copper Co, with annual smelting capacity of more than
1 million tonnes, said the company may also be affected."We had nearly full capacity running during Chinese New Year but
might need to cut ... due to the high inventory of sulphuric acid," the
source said, declining to be identified as he is not authorised to speak
to the media.One-third of Jiangxi Copper's refined
copper output that uses copper concentrate, or partially processed
copper ore, as a raw material, may be cut, while production using
blister, a partially purified form of copper, will stay the same, he
added. Daye Nonferrous and Jiangxi Copper did not immediately respond to
requests for comment.
Morocco’s fertilizer producer OCP eyes
Romanian market
February 3, 2020 - Morrocco’s phosphate and
fertilizer producer OCP, will start exporting fertilizers to Romania
after the setting up a company dubbed SEEFCO, which will be in charge of
imports, stockpiling and marketing in the eastern European country,
Moroccan media reported. The OCP’s SEEFCO, which stands for South
East European Fertilizer Company, will operate in partnership with UAE
group Al Dahra. The company will also help the group access other
markets in Eastern Europe and reduce logistics cost. The group
recently signed an 80 Euro million deal with Finland’s Outotec to uild a
sulphuri acid plant, an investment, which comes only a few days after
the Moroccan phosphates exporter signed a Euro 255 million
agreement with Spain’s Intecesa to build two similar plants. The
new plants will help OCP maintain leadership in the phosphates-based
fertilizers market especially in Africa. OCP, which is currently
producing customized fertilizers specific to the needs of different
African soils from its chemical plants in Jorf Lasfar, is also planning
large-scale investiments in Africa.
In Ethiopia, the group already launched a plant
that will be operational in the next two or four years. The plant
required an investment of about $3 billion and is expected to export raw
material for the production of fertilizers to the region. The
group is planning a fertilizer plant in Nigeria and probably in Ghana
where feasibility studies are underway. OCP is also gearing
efforts to improve the process of agricultural productivity in Africa
through helping farmers and establishing soil maps. OCP revenues
hit $5.95 billion in 2018, as the company continues to step investments
beyond extraction to manufacturing customized fertilizers.
www.northafrica post.com
Zijin to invest $800 million in
Serbian mining sector in 2020
Chinese alliance to build major
acid factory in Egypt
January 10, 2020 - A Chinese industrial and construction consortium
including China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC)
has won an $848m contract to build and operate a large phosphoric
and sulfuric acid factory in Egypt. Located near the Abu
Tartour phosphate mine in the southwestern New Valley Governorate,
the plant will boost Egypt’s standing as a major producer of the
acids, which are used in fertilizers, food and beverage manufacture,
electronics and other products. Phosphate producer Wengfu
Group and industrial engineer East China Engineering Science &
Technology Co. joined CSCEC in signing the contract on 24 December,
with Egyptian mineral resources minister Tareq al-Molla and China’s
ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang on hand to witness.
Commissioned by Egypt’s state-owned Phosphate Misr Company, the
plant will have the capacity to produce 500,000 tons of phosphoric
acid and 1.6 million tons of sulfuric acid a year. The Abu
Tartour Plateau has a reserve of more than 5 billion tons of
phosphate rock, Phosphate Misr says. CSCEC said the deal “will
effectively drive the Chinese phosphorous chemical industry and
related Chinese equipment to go global”. Phosphate production
has helped Egypt industrialise. The chairman of Phosphate Misr,
Khaled El Ghazaly, writes on the company’s website: “In just over
three decades Egypt has managed to transform itself from a small
phosphate ore producer to one of the world’s largest producers with
a production capacity of 10 Million Tons per year.”
www.globalconstructionreview.com
CN and Norfalco sign agreement
January 9, 2020 - CN and NorFalco Sales, a division of Glencore Canada
Corporation, announced they have signed a new multi-year agreement that
will provide freight transportation of Sulphuric Acid from NorFalco’s
rail served productions facilities in Sudbury, ON; Rouyn-Noranda, QC;
and Valleyfield, QC. The agreement reconfirms CN and NorFalco’s
strategic partnership for years to come. NorFalco is one of North
America's largest merchant marketers of sulfuric acid, responsible for
the marketing and distribution of about 2 million tons of sulfuric acid
per year. Through parent company Glencore, NorFalco has exclusive access
to sulfuric acid production from four major North American production
facilities and to an unrivaled global sulfuric acid supply and trading
network. “This agreement furthers our strategic partnership
with NorFalco reaching new facilities throughout eastern Canada,” said
JJ Ruest, president and chief executive officer of CN. “Safety is a core
value at CN as it is for NorFalco, and NorFalco has consistently won
CN’s Safe Handling Award recognizing customers that meet strict
standards for the safe handling and shipment of regulated products. CN
will continue working closely with NorFalco thanks to this renewed long
term partnership." “We are pleased to continue our strategic
partnership with CN. This agreement provides NorFalco, and our
customers, with a reliable rail transportation infrastructure,
underpinned with a shared commitment to safety in handling and moving
our product throughout our diversified customer base,” said Kunal Sinha,
CEO of NorFalco. “We anticipate this agreement will further our
strategic growth supported with manageable transportation costs.”
