Metso and industrial service provider Ferrostaal Industrieanlagen GmbH, Germany, reported receipt of a joint contract to build a railcar dumper facility for iron ore producer Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière (SNIM) at the harbor of Nouadhibou, Mauritania. The contract’s value was not disclosed.
Metso’s new service center in Arizona, USA, will open in the fourth quarter of 2014, according to the company.
SNIM’s director said, “SNIM’s ambitious strategy is to boost our annual iron ore production capacity up to 40 million tons in 2025 through the start-up of a new iron ore plant in mid-2014. As a consequence, we need more loading capacity and facilities in the harbor of Nouadhibou for loading the iron ore onto ships.”
Ferrostaal and Metso will provide engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of the new railcar dumper. The delivery also includes an automatic positioner to move loaded wagons into the dumper and an automatic extractor to remove unloaded wagons. This system will boost the facility’s throughput capacity to 6,000 tons per hour (t/h) and will be operational in 2015.
“Metso is pleased to continue its long relationship with SNIM, having supplied the first railcar dumper to SNIM as long ago as 1963. This new Metso railcar dumper will significantly increase the unloading capacity at the terminal and will be a prestige reference for us,” said David Hicken, vice president–bulk materials handling global sales, for Metso.
Metso’s railcar dumper in operation.
SNIM is a Mauritania state-owned company that operates several iron ore processing plants in the Zouerate region.
Ferrostaal Industrieanlagen acts as a general contractor for the planning and construction of industrial plant solutions.
In mid-December, Metso announced plans to build a state-of-the-art service and repair facility in Mesa, Arizona, USA. The new facility will be integrated with its existing operations in the area and is expected to be operational during the fourth quarter of 2014.
According to Metso, the 31,000-ft2 facility has been designed around the installed equipment base in the region and customers’ needs, which include service and repairs to large-scale grinding mills, crushers and screens. “This is one more step in our global strategy to continue to bring service closer to our customers,” said Randall Reisinger, senior vice president–engineered services solutions, services business line, mining and construction, Metso. “The service center will also support our customers in the northern part of Mexico.”
The building and personnel will accommodate a wide variety of mining and construction services and advanced repairs, as well as direct on-site repair and field service. Design features of the new building include a large service area that will house two 60-ton bridge cranes, welding and machining bays, and offices.
The facility will join a group of about 50 Metso service centers in locations such as Perth, Australia; Sorocaba, Brazil; Antofagasta, Chile; Tampere, Finland; Macon, France; Vereeniging, South Africa; Faridabad, India; Surabaya, Indonesia; and Phoenix, Arizona, USA. New centers are also in the process of being built in Cananea, Mexico; Arequipa, Peru; and Labrador City in Canada.
Prior to opening of the new center, Metso is leasing a fully equipped service and repair center in the area, allowing service to continue until the new location is complete.
