Engineering and Mining Journal - Whether the market is copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, lead/zinc, PGM, diamonds or other commodities, E&MJ takes the lead in projecting trends, following development and reporting on the most efficient operating pr
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SUPPLIERS REPORT Bridgestone Expands OTR Investment Fordia Opens Drill Bit Plant in China Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC (Bridgestone Americas) said it plans to invest an additional $27.3 million for a second expansion project at its Bloomington, Illinois, USA, off-the-road (OTR) plant. Most of the investment will go toward new machinery for the production of giant loader tires (GLT). The Bloomington plant currently specializes in production of bias-ply GLT. "The strong demand for giant loader tires is currently exceeding supply," said Ken Weaver, president of Bridgestone Americas' U.S. and Canada commercial tire sales division. "This additional expansion will better position us to respond to the continued market demand we expect to see, and to meet global growth in the mining sector." This announcement follows news in April 2012 of a $19.5-million investment in the plant to increase production of tires used in heavy industry. Most of that investment will also go toward new machinery and is expected to be completed in mid-2013. Canada's Fordia Group announced the opening ceremony for Fordia (Changzhou) Mining Machinery was held November 19 in Changzhou Export Processing Zone, located in China's Jiangsu province. An investment agreement, signed by Fordia and Changzhou National High-tech District in June 2011, calls for Asia Mining Tools Distribution Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Fordia, to invest $5 million to set up Fordia (Changzhou) Mining Machinery, which will produce high-performance diamond drilling bits and other drilling equipment, at an annual capacity of some 150,000 units. Following the startup of the Changzhou enterprise, Fordia said it expects to increase its annual sales by 35% over the next three to five years. Fordia, based in Montreal, Canada, is a global manufacturer and distributor of specialty mining and geological prospecting tools, including core drilling bits, diamond bits and drilling equipment as well as geological prospecting equipment and drilling gauges. Bechtel to Manage Ma'aden Complex Construction California-based engineering firm Bechtel has been awarded the overall program management contract for the King Abdullah project for Waad Al Shamaal City development by Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Ma'aden). Bechtel, which developed the mega-project's master plan, will oversee the engineering and construction of the planned city and industrial complex, near Turayf in northern Saudi Arabia. The company will also perform the front-end engineering and design of the planned city. The 170-mi2 (440-km2) industrial city will include commercial, housing and educational facilities. The mining complex will feature seven world-scale phosphate processing plants. Prep work on the project is now under way and construction will begin in 2013. This project, said Bechtel, adds to its portfolio of work with Ma'aden over the last decade, which includes the Ras Al-Khair aluminum smelter. In addition, Bechtel noted that it has successfully delivered nearly 5,000 mining and metals and civil infrastructure projects around the world and is currently building Jubail Industrial City, the largest civil infrastructure project in the world. www.e-mj.com JANUARY 2013 • E&MJ; 89