At the premises of the process water and slurry management shop at Northern Iron Ore, construction work on a modern hydrotechnical facility for thickening tailings is ongoing. The complex will allow the plant to reduce costs and lower the environmental burden through decreased energy and water consumption. Metinvest has received a loan amounting to EUR 23.6 mln to purchase professional equipment from Metso Finland for the complex. The loan is guaranteed by the Finnish export credit agency Finnvera. Deutsche Bank is the sole organiser and creditor, which received legal support from the international legal firm Norton Rose Fulbright.
The concept of expanding the existing tailings facility at Northern Iron Ore from the elevation +165 metres to elevation +189 metres using tailings thickening technology was approved in 2015. After developing project documentation in March 2021, Metinvest announced the launch one of its largest high-tech projects, managed by Metinvest Sichsteel specialists. The facility was planned to be put into operation three years later, but the commencement of the full-scale war forced the construction to be suspended Volodymyr SYDOROV, Project Manager at Metinvest Sichsteel, said: "Before the forced suspension, we managed to complete a certain amount of work. The design, basic and detailed engineering, and calculations were completed. We selected the construction location, set up a site office, purchased some equipment, and started preparatory works. Directly at the site of the future complex, we had to remove the top soil layer that was unsuitable for construction and replace it with another one that met the required specifications. It was during this preparatory period that the active military actions started.
However, a year ago in July 2024, the Company decided to resume construction works. The site was once again filled with working equipment and people, and earth works continued with the laying and levelling of the delivered soil. Following this came the stage of constructing the thickening complex facilities. Currently, despite the wartime risks, construction workers are carrying out piling work on foundations and pile caps that will ensure the stability and reliability of the hydrotechnical facility structures.
"The biggest challenge we currently face is the shortage of qualified specialists – both engineers and workers in technical specialities. This problem is relevant for both Metinvest and contractual organisations we work with, as a significant proportion of specialists are currently performing their duties not in peaceful construction, but at the front. At the same time, we face daily risks of shelling. To ensure personnel safety, already at the preparatory stage we installed one shelter at the site, and when construction works began, we added two more shelters. Regarding problems with energy supply due to potential attacks on energy facilities, we have resorted to a proven solution – the use of generators," explained Volodymyr Sydorov.
Specialists plan to complete the piling, concreting of the foundations of the main complex facilities by the end of the current year. In the near future, it is planned to start installation of metal structures for the recycle water pump station, thickener No.4, and the combined slurry pumping station. Commissioning of the slurry thickening complex will proceed in three stages. Completion of work at the facility is currently forecast for the end of 2027.
"Resuming construction of the slurry thickening complex opens up new prospects for Northern Iron Ore. Advanced tailings thickening technology using safe reagents to separate water from solid particles will enable the plant to reduce transportation costs and avoid increasing the area required for tailings disposal. This will give us a real opportunity to reduce the production costs of concentrate and pellets, improve profitability, and strengthen our market position in the iron ore raw materials sector," said Dmytro NEPOMNIASHYI, Director of Capital Construction and Investments at Metinvest Iron Ore Plants.
