ABB has received orders worth $51 million under an agreement signed with Kazakhstan’s largest copper producer, Kazakhmys PLC, to provide electrification and automation solutions for two new copper plants in Kazakhstan. Kazakhmys is the largest producer in Kazakhstan, operating 16 mines.
The company’s new Bozshakol sulphide complex, located in the northern part of the country, has an expected annual ore processing capacity of 30 million metric tons (mt). Its Aktogay oxide and sulphide facility in the southeast is expected to process 30 million mt of ore annually. Both mines are regarded as projects involving some of the world’s largest undeveloped copper projects.
ABB will supply switchyard, switch room and other electrical equipment, as well as the control system for the Bozshakol mine. This agreement follows two previous orders worth $45 million each for gearless mill drive packages, and covers the complete electrification, instrumentation and automation for both sites. The overall scope of supply includes substation and power transformers, high-voltage power factor compensation and harmonic filters, distribution transformers and transportable switch rooms, as well an Extended 800xA automation system.
Installation and commissioning of the equipment at Bozshakol is scheduled for September 2013, and at Aktogay one year later.
