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A third charge chrome
furnace will place Hernic
at the forefront of low cost production by virtue of
a new but proven ore
pre-treatment process.
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Titaco expands Hernic ferro-chrome production
Titaco Projects Limited, a BATEMAN subsidiary, has been awarded
a 200M turnkey contract by Hernic Ferrochrome for a third charge chrome
furnace near Brits, RSA. This will double Hernic’s production capacity
to 260 000 t/yr and place it within the top five global producers of
ferro-chrome (FeCr) and, more importantly, at the forefront of low cost
production by virtue of a new but proven ore pre-treatment process.
This expansion will embody the most modern design and includes a sophisticated
350 000M t/yr pelletized ore sintering process and a 54 MVA closed
furnace. The process will also enable Hernic to use the large quantity
of fines produced in its opencast mine as well as previously discarded
lower grade ores. The new furnace will have a capacity of 110 000 t/yr of charge chrome. Surplus sintered chromite fed into Hernic’s existing
two furnaces will result in a further 10 % to 15 % capacity to boost
the total increase in production to 150 000 t/yr .
Optimizing production cost by means of chrome recovery and energy utilization
is an important part of the project objective. Consequently Hernic selected
Outokumpu’s FeCr technology which has been successfully used at
Outokumpu’s Torno smelter for several years and has also been installed
at Samancor, RSA. Outokumpu will be responsible for the supply of the
pelletizer and pre-heater and will provide the necessary operational
support and expertise.
The contract was awarded to Titaco on the strength of its considerable
expertise and experience in the Southern African ferro-alloy industry
and because of its leading role in the installation of Hernic’s
first two furnaces. Titaco will design and construct the furnace and
all related services and provide all required service guarantees. A
strong team from Hernic and Titaco will co-operate the project in the
same way the first two Hernic furnaces were handled, which were constructed
on time and within budget.
Work commenced in March 1998 and when commissioned around mid-1999 it
will be the largest FeCr furnace in RSA.
For further details please contact George Farmer, General Manager, Bateman
Ferrous, on +27-11-899-2531 or email ferroalloys@batemanengineering.com
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