Thailand’s largest lignite (brown coal) mine has commissioned two new mineral sizer stations as part of a long-term programme to modernise the material handling infrastructure supporting the country’s domestic electricity network.
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has completed the latest phase of its partnership with MMD Group at the Mae Moh open-pit mine in Lampang Province, northern Thailand, where two new sizer stations have been brought into operation.
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The state-owned utility has operated the mine since 1969, although commercial lignite production at Mae Moh dates back to the 1950s. Today, the mine supplies fuel directly to the adjacent Mae Moh power station, making it a cornerstone of Thailand’s domestic power infrastructure.
Lignite is a relatively low-rank coal used almost exclusively for electricity generation rather than steelmaking or export.
The latest installation, comprising Sizer Stations 6 and 7, continues a relationship between EGAT and MMD that began in 1993. According to MMD, the utility began evaluating alternatives to its conventional double-roll crushers in 2014, seeking to improve equipment reliability while reducing maintenance requirements, energy consumption and lifecycle operating costs.
As part of that assessment, EGAT evaluated MMD’s mineral sizer technology at the Hongsa mine-mouth power project on the Thailand–Laos border, where comparable operating conditions demonstrated lower maintenance requirements and reduced power consumption, the company said.
Each of the new stations is designed to process an average of 1,500 tonnes per hour of lignite using an MMD 1000 Series Sizer. The units can accept feed material measuring up to 1,500mm × 1,200mm × 1,000mm and produce a controlled product size of 300mm × 300mm × 300mm. The installations also include associated feeding and conveying systems.
MMD said it has now supplied 20 of the 26 heavy sizer stations installed at Mae Moh since 1993, accounting for around 77% of the site’s installed fleet.
Manufacturing and engineering for the project were coordinated across MMD’s international operations, while structural steel fabrication and electrical control integration were carried out by local partners in Thailand.
Montree Pichayathana, managing director of MMD Thailand, said EGAT had taken a “thorough and considered approach” to selecting replacement technology, adding that the project reflected the “confidence” built through years of successful operation. He said the latest installation demonstrated both the performance of the company’s mineral sizers and the capability of its global engineering network and local project team.
The deployment continues the gradual replacement of legacy crushing infrastructure at one of Southeast Asia’s most important lignite operations, illustrating how mature mine-mouth coal operations are investing in materials handling upgrades to improve reliability and reduce maintenance rather than expand production.
