Almalyk MMC - Copper

Acid Plant Database December 3, 2022

Owner	JSC Almalyk Mining-Metallurgical Complex (AMMC)
Location	Almalyk Tashkent region Republic of Uzbekistan 110100 The Almalyk ore mining area is in the south of the Tashkent Region of the Republic of Uzbekistan, in the north-west part of the Kuraminsky range's foothills,on the left bank of the Angren river (the right tributary of the Sir-Darya river). The area occupies 850 sq.km. The area's industrial center is the town of Almalyk, 65 km of the city of Tashkent. The area is connected by a road. Railway communication is made through the Ahangaran Station.
Background	1949 - Originally Almalyk Copper-Molybdenum Complex 1997 - Transformed into a Joint Stock Company (JSC)
Website	www.agmk.uz
Plant	SC-1	SC-2	SC-3	New Plant
Coordinates*	-	-	40° 51' 16" N, 69° 32' 36" E	40° 51' 11" N, 69° 32' 40" E
Type of Plant	Metallurgical	Metallurgical	Metallurgical	Metallurgical
Gas Source	Copper	Copper	Copper	Copper
Plant Capacity	-	-	-	1500 MTPD
SA/DA	-	-	-	DA
Status	Shutdown	Shutdown	Operating
Year Built	1963	1973	1993	2014
Technology	-	-	-	Outotec
Contractor	-	-	-	-
Remarks	-	-	-	-
Pictures
Pictures
General	JSC "Almalyk MMC" is an industrial complex combining 4 mines, 2 concentrators, 2 smelters with sulphuric acid installations, repair-mechanical and limestone extracting works, an Automobile transport Board, industrial railway transport Board and also 22 auxiliary shops and divisions. The Complex employs up to 25 295 workers of various qualifications. The copper-gold-molybdenum productive facilities are represented by the operating open-pits of Kalmakir, Sari-Cheku, by the Chadaksky and Angrensky mine managements, by the Kauldy mine, copper concentrator and copper smelter with its sulphuric acid installations. The lead-zinc production line is represented by the Uch-Kulach mine with its stripping operations and by the zinc smelter with a sulphuric acid producing plant integrated. Zinc concentrate supplies are provided from abroad. The produced products are realized in both the Republic of Uzbekistan and abroad and the share of exported products is about 70%.
References	-
News	November 29, 2022 - JSC Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical complex, Almalyk MMC, in Uzbekistan has awarded Metso Outotec a contract for the design and basic engineering work for their new copper smelter complex. Two thirds of the approximately €15 million contract is booked in Metals’ fourth-quarter order intake and one third in Minerals’ fourth-quarter order intake. The basic engineering covers the flash smelting, slag concentration, electrolytic refinery technologies and sulphuric acid production. “Our company has been collaborating with Almalyk MMC for many years, both in minerals and metallurgical solutions. We will provide comprehensive basic engineering services for the construction of their new metallurgical complex in Almalyk. We look forward to the close collaboration and to the continued growth going forward,” says Gustav Kildén, Vice President for Metals Sales at Metso Outotec. Almalyk MMC is the main copper producer in Uzbekistan. The company produces refined copper, gold, silver, zinc, molybdenum, lead concentrate and other products. The new copper smelter forms part of a new copper processing and refining complex linked to the development of the Yoshlik-1 mine. Metso Outotec is already supplying a range of equipment for the MOF3 concentrator part of the project, including HIGMill® regrinding mills, TankCell® flotation equipment and high-rate thickeners, FrothSense+™ froth cameras, Larox® PF filters, slurry pumps and MHC™ Series hydrocyclones, as well as samplers, Courier™ 6X SL elemental on-line analysers and PSI500i particle size analysers, a state-of-the-art process control system, and installation and commissioning advisory services and spare parts. The capacity of sulfuric acid production in Uzbekistan will increase by 1.4 times, from 950 metric tons to 1,300 metric tons per year by 2020, according to the decree of Uzbekistan’s Cabinet of Ministers. The government decree envisages increasing the capacity by constructing new sulfuric acid producing facilities (with capacity of 650,000 metric tons per year each) at Ammofos-Maxam JSC and Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combine. It is planned to commission the facilities at Ammofos-Maxam and Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combine in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Meanwhile, the outdated facilities for sulfuric acid production will be decommissioned at Ammofos-Maxam (with capacity of 500,000 metric tons per year) and Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combine (450,000 metric tons per year). It is planned to finance the projects with the own funds of the Uzhimprom State Joint Stock Company, Uzbek Fund for Reconstruction and Development, loans from local and foreign banks, own funds of Ammofos-Maxam and Navoi Combine. However, the cost of the projects is not specified in the government decree. The general contractors for construction of the facilities on a “turnkey” basis will be determined through closed tenders. Ammofos-Maxam JSC, commissioned in 1969, is the largest of the three chemical enterprises producing phosphate fertilizers in Uzbekistan. The design capacity allows to produce over 338,000 metric tons of ammophos, 500,000 metric tons of sulfuric acid and 417,000 metric tons of wet-process phosphoric acid per year. Spanish MAXAM Corp. obtained 49 percent of the enterprise’s share for $18 million and investment commitments worth $30 million in January 2008. The state is the owner of 51 percent of the block of shares. Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combine is one of the largest gold producers in Central Asia. The combine is fully owned by the state. The annual production volume nears $2 billion. March 4, 2014 - An accident at the Almalyksy chemical plant led to the spill of about 1,200 kg of sulfuric acid. According to employees of the Almalyksy chemical plant, the accident happened either on February 27 or 28. The plant's management has concealed the accident from the public and its site is heavily guarded. According to a plant employee, the accident is a result of an overturned tanker carrying 600 liters of acid (1,200 kg). It was not possible to isolate the spill as most of it seeped into the soil, thus polluting ground waters as well. Another employee told Uznews.net that there have been no injuries among the plant workers and environmental damage assessments have already been performed. He believes that the results of the environmental impact study show little to be concerned about; neither are there any damages to local residents and farm animals. However, rumors have spread among local residents about the sudden death of people and animals. September 11, 2011 - Almali Mining and Metallurgical Combine (AMMC, Almalik city, Tashkent region) will speed up the implementation of the project to build a new workshop for producing sulfuric acid at the smelting plant. The project cost is $80.3 million, a source in government circles told Trend on Friday. The project is implemented with the participation of German Outotec GmbH. "To accelerate the implementation of the project is allowed until the first AMMC April 2012 to carry out construction works for the construction of the sulfuric acid plant on its own with the parallel development of design estimates, perform in-house construction and installation work, acquire at least the development of technical documentation on the internal market in direct contracts with companies producing accessories and components in accordance with the approved feasibility study for the project "- said the source. "To speed up the implementation of the project, AMMC is allowed to, by April 1, 2012, carry out works for the construction of the sulfuric acid workshop at its own funds with the parallel development of design estimates, conduct construction and installation work, etc.," said the source. AMMC is also allowed to attract specialized construction and installation and other organizations of the Republic for subcontracting on the basis of direct contracts if necessary. The materials, equipment and spare parts, including technical and design documents imported as part of the project, are exempt from paying customs duties by July 1, 2014. In addition, the Head of State exempted Outotec from profit tax. As reported earlier, the German company signed a contract with the AMMC to design and supply equipment on a turnkey basis for the construction of the new sulfuric acid shop at copper smelting plant with a capacity of 500,000 tons of sulfuric acid per year. The project will be funded through the Uzbek Reconstruction and Development Foundation’s loan in the amount of $30 million, loans of Uzbek banks totaling $29 million and AMMC’s own funds in the amount of $21.2 million. The project is scheduled to be implemented by 2014. The company is the only copper producer in Uzbekistan. It produces refined copper (cathode), metallic zinc, lead concentrate and other products. The share of the combine is about 90 percent of the solver production and 20 percent of gold in the country. The enterprise yields produce valued at more than $300 million a year. The enterprise is specialized in production of refined copper (cathodes), metallic zinc, lead concentrate and other produces. The enterprise exports around 60 percent of its output, including 5 percent as export to CIS states. The enterprise incorporates two ore mines, two dressing works and two metallurgic plants with their own infrastructure. The enterprise is authorized to carry out extractive work at copper-molybdenum and lead-zinc mines in the area of town Almalyk (the Tashkent district). The raw material base of the AMSE comprises copper-porphyritic ore mines Kalmakyr and Sari-Cheku (the Tashkent district) and lead-zinc-barite ore mine Uch-Kulach (the Jizak district). In late 2010, the Uzbek government has authorized Almalyk with the function of exploring for non-ferrous metals and associated minerals in the whole country, as well as additional exploration and operational intelligence about deposits of precious metals, with the formation of the Geology of Non-ferrous Metals Science and Production Center. Almalyk MMC is exempt from customs duties for the import of equipment, technology and vehicles for exploration until Jan.1, 2017. July 18, 2011 - Finnish mineral processing equipment maker Outotec said in a statement Monday it has agreed to a $42 million deal to design and deliver a gas cleaning and sulfuric acid plant to Uzbekistan’s state-owned Almalyk Mining company. The new plant will aid the copper production facilities of Almalyk Mining And Metallurgical Complex Public Joint Stock Company (AMMC), headquartered in Almalyk 40 miles from the capital city of Tashkent. “This is also our first sulfuric acid plant project in the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) in many years and we are excited about further opportunities in this growing market," Outotec president and CEO Pertti Korhonen said in a press statement. Under the terms of the agreement, Outotec will design the technology and engineering, supply all related equipment, advise the plant’s builders and commission the overall project. The acid plant is expected to go online within 32 months and will have an annual production capacity of 551 million tons of sulfuric acid. AMMC is an industrial complex of four mines and a number of facilities. July 18, 2011 - Outotec has signed a contract with OJSC Almalyk Mining & Metallurgical Company (AMMC) for the design and delivery of a gas cleaning and sulfuric acid plant to AMMC's existing copper production facilities, located near Almalyk, Uzbekistan. The contract is valued at approximately EUR 30 million. The scope of Outotec's delivery includes process technology design, detail engineering, procurement and the supply of proprietary equipment, including all acid resistant parts made of Edmeston SX material. In addition, Outotec will also provide advisory services for construction and commissioning to the overall project scope. The overall project is expected to be completed within 32 months. The new acid plant complex will produce approximately 500,000 tonnes of sulfuric acid annually. One of the key priorities for AMMC, a government-owned entity and the country's sole copper producer, was to substantially improve the environmental conditions of the region where the facilities are located. In the new solution, the off-gases of the existing copper plant will first be treated and cleaned in a gas cleaning unit before they are further processed in a new sulfuric acid plant. "Outotec's expertise in the minerals processing and metallurgical plants as well as track record as the leading provider of sulfuric acid technology with more than 600 plants delivered worldwide were important aspects to winning the contract. The use of Edmeston SX material - special stainless steel designed especially for acid plants - has further strengthened our competiveness thanks to the acquisition of Edmeston last year. We are looking forward to working with AMMC to provide the appropriate environmental solutions. This is also our first sulfuric acid plant project in the CIS in many years and we are excited about further opportunities in this growing market", notes Outotec's President and CEO Pertti Korhonen.

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


Sulphuric Acid on the Web^TM	Technical Manual	DKL Engineering, Inc.