Minerals processing services provider Metso has installed an in-pit crushing and conveying system into trial operation for the Russian Olkon (Olenegorskiy GOK) iron ore mine owned by Severstal.
The system comprises an AF10-84 apron feeder, a Nordberg C200 jaw crusher, an RF2448 mining screen and a Nordberg HP800(TM) cone crusher.
It also has conveyors, custom-made electrics and automation systems, feed and support structures, and maintenance equipment.
According to Metso, the availability of an in-pit crushing and conveying process will provide savings in the operating costs of truck fleets and avoids potential accidents.
Olkon general director Alexander Popov said: "The successful start-up of the crushing and screening equipment and the belt conveyor in our mine gives many other mining companies reason to have confidence in the solution.
"This system is unique for Severstal, as well as for the entire mining industry in Russia and Europe."
Metso’s new solution at the mine covers primary and secondary crushing as well as conveying, with a 1,200t capacity per hour.
Metso senior project manager Frédéric Barou said: "Metso mobilised cross-national teams to design and implement the crushing and conveying solution in the pit."
Part of the company’s new Nordberg NCHD mining range, the maintenance-friendly conveyors provide better protection against the freezing temperatures.
The system also comes with a comprehensive set of access and maintenance platforms to increase safety.
The Olkon mine is located 200km north of the Arctic Circle in Olenegorsk, Murmansk, and has a production capacity of approximately 4.4 million tonnes of product a year.
Earlier in January 2013, Metso won a contract to supply Severstal with a complete rotary drying system for the iron ore plant upgrade project at the Olkon mine.
Image: Murmansk region vice-governor Alexey Tyukavin; Olkon general director Alexander Popov; Olenegorsk head Oleg Samarsky. Photo: courtesy of Metso.
