TECHNOLOGY

New tailings treatment plant for Svappavaara iron ore

Metallurgical specialist technology company Outotec has been awarded a tailings treatment package for the old Svappavaara iron ore mine in northern Sweden.

Posted: Friday , 16 Dec 2011

HELSINKI - 

Finland's Outotec has agreed with Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB (LKAB) delivery of a technology package for thickening the tailings in the Svappavaara iron ore mine in Sweden. The contract value is some millions of Euros.

 Outotec's scope of delivery includes engineering of a tailings treatment process, Outotec® Paste Thickener with related buildings, piping, electrification, instrumentation and control systems as well as installation and services for start-up and training. The new process is expected to become operational in October 2012.

 Outotec's paste thickening technology is applicable on both ferrous and non-ferrous metals concentrator applications as well as for example in diamond mines. Paste thickening efficiently separates water from tailings and reduces water consumption of the mine by approximately 10 percent and space requirements for tailings dams. Produced sluggish paste can also be used directly as a back fill in the mine so that tailings return to their origin.

 "We just recently delivered and commissioned similar solution to the Laiva gold mine in Finland so this new order strengthens our view that the demand for tailings treatment solutions continues to grow. Outotec's goal is to develop sustainable solutions for tailings treatment, and this order demonstrates that our paste thickening fulfills our customers' expectations", says Outotec CEO Pertti Korhonen.