Engineering & Mining Journal

OCT 2017

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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34 E&MJ; • OCTOBER 2017 www.e-mj.com NORDIC MINING 2017 "The market has changed in re- cent years," explained Moström at the time. "We are therefore focusing on the Leveäniemi and Gruvberget open pits at Svappavaara and leaving Mertainen dor- mant until the market conditions change. "The facilities at Mertainen will be kept in a condition such that we are able to start production at just a few months' notice," he added. "We are thus ready for any change in the demand for coarse fines." Crude ore production rose at each of the company's production centers, reaching 26.9 million mt at Kiruna, 16.4 million mt at Malmberget and 6.1 million mt at Svappavaara. LKAB is changing the focus for its exploration from looking for new surface deposits to obtaining better long-term knowl- edge of its underground resources, such that exploration drilling at Malmberget increased from 50,000 m in 2015 to 85,000 m last year. In its quest for new markets for its products, in June LKAB announced the formation of a new joint venture compa- ny with the Swedish steelmaker, SSAB, and the power generator Vattenfall, to progress the Hybrit fossil-free steel-pro- duction concept. This aims to replace existing coal- and coke-fired blast-fur- nace technology with a hydrogen-based process that would emit water rather than carbon dioxide. "The joint-venture company will en- able us to work together effectively to eliminate the root cause of carbon di- oxide emissions in the steel industry," said Martin Lindqvist, president and CEO of SSAB. Moström added, "It indi- cates our conviction that it is possible to develop a fossil-free production chain all the way from mine to steelworks." The Hybrit project falls into three phases: a preliminary study this year, followed by research and pilot-plant trials up to 2024 and the use of a full- scale demonstration faciliity by 2035. Hydro's New Technology In August, Norwegian aluminum produc- er, Hydro, officially opened its new tech- nology pilot plant, designed to test what the company claims is "the world's most climate- and energy-efficient technology for aluminum electrolysis." Having cost NOK4.3 billion ($520 million) to build, the 75,000-mt/y plant at Karmøy, near Stavanger on the country's southwest coast, is scheduled to begin production late this year. According to Hydro, the aim of the new HAL4e technology is to reduce en- ergy consumption by around 15% per kilogram of aluminum produced in rela- tion to the international average, and with the lowest CO 2 emissions in the world. "What we are building now is a high-tech pilot for the future, with the world's most energy- and climate-efficient aluminum production," said Hydro CEO Svein Rich- ard Brandtzæg. "The pilot will show the way not only for Karmøy, but for all our plants in Nor- way and around the world. So this is a pilot for all of Hydro, for the growth of future-orientated industry here in Norway, and for the global climate," he went on. "The technology pilot here at Karmøy is green, smart and innovative," said Nor- wegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, who performed the opening ceremony. For 2016, Hydro reported the produc- tion of nearly 2.1 million mt of prima- ry aluminum, with record production of bauxite (11.1 million mt) and alumina (6.3 million mt) from its Paragominas mine and Alunorte refinery in Brazil. Last December, the company paid Vale $113 million for its residual holding in - ing full ownership of the operation. Hy- dro reported net income of NOK6.96 billion ($850 million) for 2016, up from NOK2.3 billion in 2015, although the average price realized for its alumi- num fell from $1,737/mt to $1,574/mt year-on-year. In July, Hydro agreed to buy Orkla's 50% share in the Sapa joint venture, formed in 2013 when the two companies combined their aluminum extrusion as- sets. Hydro believes the acquisition will make it the only global company in the aluminum industry that is fully integrat- ed across the value chain and markets. Valued for the transaction at NOK27 bil- lion ($3.4 billion), Sapa is the world's leading supplier of extrusion-based alu- minum products, with a 22% market share in Europe and 24% of the North American market. Gems From Greenland ... In May, Greenland joined the world's select few producers of rubies, with the opening of the Aappaluttoq mine. Locat- ed around 250 km south of Nuuk, the deposit was initially evaluated and de- veloped by the Canadian company, True North Gems. However, last September, True North Gems' Greenland subsidiary ran out of funding with mine construc- tion incomplete, and the Greenland au- Construction in progress at the new Bakki plant in northeast Iceland, which will have a capacity of 32,000 mt/y of silicon metal when it comes on stream in 2018. (Photo: PCC SE)

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