Stoilensky beneficiation plant increases productivity

High pressure grinding rolls (HPGR) are being installed to complement the existing cone crushers and ball grinders. The use of HPGR technology enables reduced consumption of electric energy, water and other materials in the beneficiation process per tonne of output; as well as increasing the fineness of crushed ore, reducing maintenance costs and increasing the volume of processed ore.

During the first stage of the Stoilensky modernization project, four high pressure grinding rolls will be installed at beneficiation plant sections 1 and 4. Modernization of section 1 will be completed in 2015; with section 4 modernization scheduled for completion in Q1 2016. After stage one is complete, the company will review possible implementation of similar equipment at the remaining sections 2 and 3.

This technology, coupled with other capacity upgrade projects and operational efficiency initiatives, will boost Stoilensky’s iron ore concentrate production from the current 15 million tonnes per year to 17.2 million tonnes per year by 2017. This increase in captive low cost material will feed the forthcoming 6 million tonnes per year pelletizing plant scheduled for launch in 2016.

Konstantin Lagutin, NLMK Group Vice President for Investment Projects, said: «When revising the development programme for our mining divisions, we decided to replace the capital-intensive construction a new section 5 of the beneficiation plant with a set of upgrades and other initiatives that will allow us to increase our capacity by 2.2 million tonnes of concentrate for just a fraction of the initially planned capex . One such measure is the implementation of high-pressure grinding, a technology which is new to Russia but which has been widely applied around the world. Investment into the step-by-step implementation of four grinders for sections 1 and 4 will total approximately $50 million.»