World's Largest Manganese Sinter Plant Launched in South Africa

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--At 2.4 million tons a year, what is claimed to be the world's largest sinter plant was launched by Kalagadi Manganese (Johannesburg) near Hotazel in South Africa's Northern Cape last week.

The manganese mine at the site is the first in the country to be owned by a black woman. Daphne Mashile-Nkosi said before the launch that the commissioning of the $1.3 billion integrated project includes the underground mine and sintering plant, as well as a planned ferromanganese smelter in the Eastern Cape. This latter project still needs to be tendered.

The plan is for 3 million tons of ore per year from the mine to provide feedstock for the production of 2.4 million tons a year of sinter. Out of the annual sinter production, 1.7 million tons will be marketed and 700,000 tons per year smelted into high-carbon ferromanganese at the proposed smelter at the Coega Industrial Development Zone at the new deepwater port of Ngqura.

The sintering production process covers the mixing, agglomeration and semi-smelting of manganese ore, fine coke, fluxes and recycled dust into sintered product. A circular cooling process and recovery of waste gases form part of the closed loop system. The plant was designed and installed by Outotec (OMX:OYJ) (Espoo, Finland) and incorporates green technology.

George Maluleke, head of projects, said that the sinter plant had been designed to reduce emission to the lowest levels and complied with the 2013 targets set by the South African regulatory bodies. The dust extraction systems in the design and the recovery and recycling of dust into the main sintering process ensure that minimal emissions occur during the sintering process.

"All stockpiles before and after the sintering plant are enclosed to ensure containment of process-generated manganese dust. The sintered manganese product would generate improved dollar revenues for each ton of manganese ore mined, bringing the grade up from about 36% to 47%," Maluleke said.

Kalgadi has built its own infrastructure with a 132-kilovolt power line and substations and a 21-kilometer water supply pipeline to support the mine and sinter plant. A prefeasibility study has been completed for the accommodation of mine employees with the opportunity to buy or rent homes.

Mashile-Nkosi said that Kalagadi believed that the mine had more than 300 years on mine-life reserves in the area.

In November, ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) (Luxembourg, Luxembourg) agreed to sell a 50% stake in Kalagadi for $458 million after a drawn-out battle over control.

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