Roasting machines form the main equipment of the pelletizing process, and their performance determines the quality and volume of pellet production. The equipment in all production areas - pelletizing, roasting, screening, raw materials and finished products storage - will be replaced in 45 days of maintenance. The work plan includes the refurbishment of pelletizing disks, process fans, conveyors, pallet cars, steel structures and brick lining. Major overhaul activities will help increase the mean time between failures and guard the pellet production technology. After the major overhaul, the roasting machine will reach its design capacity of 505 t of pellets per hour. Finished product output will grow by 7%.
Pavel Timoshenko, the general director of Northern GOK:
The 2017 investment program is the largest over the last 11 years. The company has allocated about UAH 3 bln for the renewal of mining machinery, railway vehicles and trucks, and reconstruction of equipment. Major overhaul investments have trippled, y-o-y. The major portion of the investments is dedicated to the development of the beneficiation and pelletizing processes, which will allow to increase output and reduce the cost of production. Steady operation of the processing plant will contribute to the production of the required amount of quality iron ore materials for steel makers in Ukraine and Europe, and help increase the production of premium quality pellets with Fe content of 65% and more.