New ore washing capabilities at Monnet Ispat, Raigarh

A new iron ore washing plant installed for Monnet Ispat and Energy in Raigarh, India has resulted in significant efficiency gains as a result of effective removal of unwanted fines and slimes.

The main problem that Monnet Ispat & Energy (MIEL) had was the high level of variation in the feed material as a result of it being sourced from a variety of mines rather than one consistent resource.

It was the high fines content in particular that was causing most concern as this was resulting in a significantly reduced campaign life.

The new washing plant from CDE Asia effectively removes all of the low grade fines and slimes which results in a higher quality ore. This not only increases efficiency in the kilns but has also delivered a washed ore product that MIEL are able to sell to export markets at a premium price.

MIEL invested in the CDE washing plant after CDE Asia conducted extensive testing of the feed material to establish that quality improvements that it was possible to achieve. This testing was conducted at CDE Asia’s own testing facilities.

“We were able to demonstrate to Monnet Ispat & Energy that they would enjoy considerable benefits from the installation of our washing plant in the quality of the material processed, ability to handle variation in ore quality, segregation of feed material for different kilns and of course reduction of contaminants” explains Dr. A. Bandyopadhyay, President — Technology of CDE Asia.

The new processing plant is making a 5mm to 25mm product for the DRI plant, a 2mm to 5mm product and a 0.075mm to 2mm product.

Following the washing of the iron ore fines through the CDE Evowash system waste water is delivered to an Aquacycle thickener which ensures that approximately 90% of the water used is recycled. This significantly reduces the volume of fresh water required to feed the washing plant and makes this sort of process possible where there are restrictions on water availability.

Prior to the introduction of the CDE washing plant the -5mm product contained 7% minus 75 micron material which was the major cause of the inefficiencies being experienced by MIEL in their steel making processes. The new plant has reduced this to 1.5% which has not only improved the Fe grade of the feed material and increased campaign life but has also resulted in improved metallisation.

“The CDE Washing plant, installed in our Raigarh plant, has increased the campaign life of Kiln by 10% and the yield by 2%. Also the metallization has improved considerably” says Mr. S. V. Parameshwar — Asst. Vice President,Sponge Iron Division,Monnet Ispat & Energy Limited.

Monnet Ispat & Energy Ltd (MIEL), the flagship company of the Monnet Group, is India’s Second Largest Sponge Iron Manufacturing Company with an Annual Production of 1 Million Tons Per Annum. Monnet is marketing 1.5 MTPA of Sponge Iron, Ferro Alloys, Mild Steel Billets, Mild Steel Ingots & Rolled Products from its integrated plants at Raipur and Raigarh with a customer and distribution network through India. The company is further expanding the capacities of its steel and sponge Iron making facilities and setting up green field steel plants in Raigarh (Chhattisgarh) and Angul (Orissa) which would propel its total steel capacity to 3.0 MTPA and Sponge Iron to 2.3 MTPA by 2010-11.