Northern Mining and Processing Plant continues modernization of processing complex equipment with increased productivity, pellet quality
Northern Mining and Processing Plant (Kryvy Rih, Dnipropetrovsk region), part of the Metinvest group, continues to modernize its processing complex equipment.
According to the plant's information on Monday, specialists at the enterprise carried out a complex multi-stage complex of works to modernize the equipment. Due to system repairs that took place in several stages in the pellet production shop No. 2, the northerners updated the LURGI 552A roasting machine and roller screen.
It is specified that the function of the raw pellet screen is to sift out and return the fine class of pellets to the cup pelletizer. As part of the modernization last year, an upper deck was installed on the screen for screening the large fraction of raw pellets, and the rollers of the upper deck were replaced with design ones, which made it possible to increase the average hourly productivity of the firing machine from 460 tonnes to 463 tonnes per hour.
During the quarterly repair, which took place in April of this year, instead of 25 rollers with a diameter of 150 mm, 41 rollers with a smaller diameter of 89 mm were installed on the lower deck. The applied technical solution improved the screening of the fraction with a size of 0-9 mm by almost 30%. In addition, this allowed to further increase the productivity of the machine from 463 to 465 tonnes per hour.
"The scope of work carried out was the final stage of the planned measures to modernize the LURGI 552A firing machine. What did we manage to achieve? First of all, increasing the productivity of the machine and improving the quality characteristics of the iron ore feedstock. These measures also reduced energy consumption during production – gas consumption per 100 cubic meters per hour and electricity consumption – approximately 150 kW per hour, which should bring almost UAH 4 million this year. These are the key parameters on which we focus in order to meet the consumer requirements of the European market and achieve results in operational efficiency," Deputy Head of the Production and Planning Department Andriy Stebliy said.
According to the information, after the loss of the Metinvest Group's metallurgical plants in Mariupol due to Russian armed aggression, Northern Mining and Processing Plant reoriented itself, switching to the production of unfluxed pellets from A1 grade concentrate, which are in demand in Europe. To this end, in 2023, a two-deck roller screen for raw pellets was installed on the LURGI 552A and LURGI 552B roasting machines, which ensured the production of high-quality products for European customers, and later, specialists designed and implemented a complex set of measures to modernize it.
Today, the enterprise produces pellets in accordance with market requirements, and the products are sent to European consumers and metallurgists Zaporizhstal and Kamet Steel.
