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Sulphuric Acid on the WebTM Technical Manual DKL Engineering, Inc.

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Acid Plant Database   November 30, 2023

Owner Ramu Nico Management (MCC) Limited

Ramu-Nickel-Logo.jpg (4423 bytes)

Location Madang Province
Papua New Guinea
Background The Project is an unincorporated joint venture between MCC Ramu (85%); MRML (2.5%) and MRRL (with 3.94%) two subsidiaries of Mineral Resource Development Corporation (MRDC) on behalf of PNG government and landowner interests; and RNL (8.56%), a subsidiary of former developer Highland Pacific Ltd.  Ramu NiCo Management (MCC) Limited, as the Manager of the Project appointed by all joint venture parties, is fully responsible for construction, development and operation of the Project.
In China, MCC Ramu NiCo Limited is wholly owned by MCC-JJJ Mining, whose shareholders include China Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC), a Fortune 500 company and three of the largest enterprises in the Chinese nickel and stainless steel industry, namely Jinchuan Group Limited, Jilin Jien Nickel Industry Limited, and Jiuquan Iron & Steel (Group) Limited. These four giants give the Project strong supports on financing, technology and operation, and furthermore form a strategic alliance in developing and consuming nickel and cobalt.   

Website www.ramunico.com
Plant Plant No. 1 Plant No. 2
Coordinates* 5° 32' 32" S, 146° 8' 18" E (Site) 5° 32' 32" S, 146° 8' 18" E (Site)
Type of Plant Sulphur Burning Sulphur Burning
Gas Source Elemental Sulphur Elemental Sulphur
Plant Capacity 1700 MTPD 1700 MTPD
SA/DA DA DA
Emissions 99.8% Conversion 99.8% Conversion
Status Operating Operating
Year Built 2011 2011
Technology ENFI ENFI
Contractor - -
Remarks - -
Pictures Ramu-Nickel-2.jpg (100049 bytes)  Ramu-Nickel-Map.jpg (35150 bytes)  Ramu-Nico-3.JPG (66804 bytes)   Ramu-Nico-4.JPG (41896 bytes)  Ramu-Nico-5.JPG (36485 bytes)   
General Located in Madang Province on the north coast of Papua New Guinea, Ramu is a large “wet tropical” laterite nickel and cobalt project, whose mine life is predicted at 35 to 40 years. It will potentially yield about 33,000 tonnes of nickel and 3,300 tonnes of cobalt contained in a high-grade intermediate product.

The Project is composed of three parts: the Kurumbukari mine site, the Basamuk processing plant and a 135 kilometers slurry pipeline from the mine to the processing plant. The mine is located on the Kurumbukari plateau, on the southern side of the Ramu River Valley, 75 kilometers to the southwest of Madang. The processing plant site is located on coast of Basamuk bay, 55km to the southeast of Madang.

References -
News October 24, 2019 - Papua New Guinean authorities have shut down a Chinese-owned nickel processing plant for breaching safety and mining laws, after the operator spilled tens of thousands of litres of toxic slurry into a bay in August.  PNG's Mineral Resources Authority (MRA) chose to take punitive action against the Ramu Nico plant, which is majority owned by the Metallurgical Corporation of China (MCC), after it failed to fix problems the authority identified while investigating the spill.  These included incompetency among operators at the plant in PNG's Madang province, problems with the spillage containment system, and inadequate equipment maintenance.  The authority said the processing facility would not be permitted to reopen until these issues were fixed — effectively halting all of Ramu Nico's mining operations for the time being.  "They were given sixteen recommendations to rectify, and apparently six weeks down the line, we found that the operator has failed," MRA managing director Jerry Garry said.  On August 24, a pump failure at the mine's Basamuk Bay processing plant saw about 200,000 litres of toxic slurry spill out, with up to 80,000 litres making its way into the ocean — turning the water bright red, and staining the nearby shoreline.  While local officials have banned the sale of fish caught in the province following the spill, investigations into the resulting environmental damage have turned back markedly different results.  One scientific report commissioned by the provincial government said there was evidence of widespread contamination, however PNG's environmental authority has said it found heavy metal contamination was within acceptable levels.  A spokesman for the nickel mine's Chinese operator confirmed the shutdown order, and said the company was considering its legal options, Reuters reported.  Ramu Nico has previously apologised for the slurry spill, but has denied it caused any serious environmental damage.  While local villagers were happy to hear of the Ramu Nico closure, they told the ABC's Pacific Beat program they didn't think it went far enough, and called on the PNG Government to slap heavy penalties on the company.  Louis Medaing, whose village is near the nickel processing plant, said the facility should have been closed straight after the spill, which some in the community have linked to health problems and fish kills.  "They didn't think of our lives, the Government has now realised and ordered the mine to be closed," he said.  "That refinery must not open until everything is sorted out, everything is settled."  The temporary closure is the latest in a string of controversies for the $2 billion Ramu Nico mining operation, which was China's first major resource project in Papua New Guinea when it opened in 2012.  Landowners had fought a legal battle to prevent the mine from disposing of its tailings in the ocean via a deep-sea pipeline, however this failed in the courts in 2010.  Plaintiffs in the case chose to fire their lawyer and abandon proceedings, a decision National Court Justice David Cannings said was "to a degree, suspicious".  He said "reasonable people" would question whether the plaintiffs had been intimidated, threatened or paid off.  There have also been fights between local staff and Chinese workers in the past, as well as attacks on the facilities, earlier slurry leaks, and one fatal workplace accident in 2016 that saw the mine temporarily closed.

August 30, 2019 - A Chinese nickel mine operator has apologised after accidentally spilling an estimated 200,000 litres of toxic slurry into a bay in Papua New Guinea's Madang province, turning the water bright red and staining the shore.  Mineral Resources Authority managing director Jerry Garry told the ABC's Pacific Beat program the slurry was "very acidic".  Authorities said compensation would be pursued and a punishment would also be imposed on the plant operator, Ramu Nickel, which is owned by the Metallurgical Corp of China (MCC).  Ramu Nickel's vice-president, Wang Baowen, said the company was extremely concerned about the incident and "committed to address any compensation".  The spill is the latest incident in the Ramu Nickel mine's short but troubled history. The $2 billion project was the first Chinese resource investment in Papua New Guinea.  The start of operations were delayed by a year as landowners fought an unsuccessful legal battle to prevent it from dumping waste into the sea by a process known as deep-sea tailings disposal.  Despite the toxic nature of the spill, the mineral authority's inspector found no immediate safety concerns and no reason to shut down the plant's operations.  Residue samples have been sent to Australia for testing, with results expected in under a month.


July 2012 - Highland Pacific says that comissioning continues at the Ramu nickel-cobalt project in Papua New Guinea.  According to the company, ore treatement began in one of the three high-pressure autoclaves in early March and had by May operated continuously for six weeks with no major processing issues, during which time 300,000 tonnes of slurried ore was treated, producing 486 tonnes of mixed nickel-cobalt hydroxide.  The first autoclave was to be closed down at the end of April for inspection, and the second autoclave circuit started for similar testing.  At full production, Ramu will consume 360,000 t/a sulphur to produce 1.1 million t/a of sulphuric acid which will be used to leach 31,150 t/a of nickel and 3,300 t/a cobalt as mixed hydroxide.

 

December 17, 2010 - Reuters reported that Papua New Guinea's Ramu Nickel Mine, majority owned by China's Ramu Nico Management, will commence production in 2011 working up to an annualized rate of 31,150 tonnes of nickel and 3,300 tonnes of cobalt.  Mr Wu Xeng, a company official, said that "We are 95% complete, and nearing production."

 

October 25, 2010 - The Chinese developer of Papua New Guinea's Ramu Nickel mine has been allowed to resume work on the construction of a deep sea tailings disposal pipeline.  China's Ramu Nico will now go ahead with the construction of the proposed pipeline from the Kurumbukari mine site to Madang's Basamuk Bay.  It plans to dump millions of tonnes of slurry waste from the mine via the pipeline into the seas north of Madang.  Affected landowners have successfully stopped the construction of the pipeline, but later withdrew the case under controversial circumstances.  Another landowner Loius Medaing has filed fresh proceedings to stop the deep sea tailings.  Late last week, PNG's National Court in Madang refused another injunction and instead allowed the construction work to resume.  But the court has also ordered the developer not to dump any wastes via the pipeline, until the case is determined early next month. Both parties have been advised to prepare for a full trial in the New Year.  PNG's Ramu nickel mine was reportedly scheduled to commence trial operation later this year.

 

August 25, 2010 - Production at Metallurgical Corp of China Ltd's (MCC) Ramu nickel mine in Papua New Guinea is likely to be delayed to the end of the year, six months later than previously scheduled, a senior executive said on Wednesday.  "We estimate the Ramu nickel mine will be able to start production by the end of this year," MCC Vice-President Huang Dan told a news conference in Hong Kong.  Construction of the mine has been delayed due to health-related safety checks, she said.  Once it starts production, the mine is expected to produce 40,000 tonnes of metal in the first year, 78,000 tonnes in the second year, 77,000 tonnes in the third year and 74,000 tonnes in the fourth year.

 

May 11, 2009 - Construction of a $1.7 billion nickel project in Papua New Guinea has been halted due to fighting between local workers and Chinese labour, local media reported on Monday.   The fighting last Friday resulted in injuries to 14 Chinese and three local workers, as well as extensive property and equipment damage, said The Post Courier newspaper in the capital, Port Moresby.  Mine management told the newspaper that construction had halted at the site.  "We call on the PNG Government and police to fully investigate the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice, and to promptly restore law and order on site," the mine management in a statement in the newspaper.   Construction of the Ramu mine has been plagued by disputes with local landholders, many of whom also work at the site. Majority-owner China Metallurgical Construction Group Corp (MCC) has accused officials of forcing locals to work in sub-standard conditions.   Last August, local workers attacked Chinese labour and shut the gates to the project over working conditions.  The Post Courier newspaper said the latest fighting was over rumours of an accident at the site involving a Papua New Guinea worker.   Police reinforcements have been sent to the mine site near Madang on the north coast to investigate the fighting and to provide security to Chinese workers, said The National newspaper.

July 23, 2008 - Papua New Guinea's Chinese-backed Ramu nickel and cobalt project has secured nearly one-point-four billion US dollars in funding - the final hurdle before the project can become operational. The announcement was made by the junior joint-venture partner, Highlands Pacific, to the Australian Stock Exchange today. The China Metalurgical and Construction Company, or MCC, is the largest of the four Chinese joint-venture partners.

April 1, 2008 - Australia-based Highlands Pacific Ltd and its joint venture partner, MCC Ramu NiCo Ltd will start large-scale construction at the Ramu Nickel Project in Papua New Guinea within 3 months. About USD 200 million has already been committed or spent on the USD 1.37 billion project, the financing for which will be finalized within the next three months subject to approval from the Chinese government. The Ramu Nickel project is part owned by a Chinese syndicate. About 40% of the project cost will be financed by Chinese banking institutions, 30% will come via a shareholder loan from the Chinese syndicate and the rest as shareholder equity. This means the project is being financed by 30% equity and 70% debt, which is to be repaid over 10 years. The Chinese syndicate comprising MCC-JJJ Mining Development Co. owns 100% of MCC Ramu NiCo Ltd, which in turn holds 85% of the Ramu project. Highlands has an 8.56% interest in the Ramu project, which will increase to 11.30% at no cost to the company after repayment of its part of the debt.

MTPD - Metric Tonne per Day           STPD - Short Ton per Day
MTPA - Metric Tonne per Annum      STPA - Short Ton per Annum
SA - Single Absorption
DA - Double Absorption
 

* Coordinates can be used to locate plant on Google Earth