Investment in iron ore washing gathers pace in India

Two of the largest steel producers in India have recently purchased new iron ore washing plants from CDE Global through their sister company CDE Asia with headquarters in Kolkata, India.

Bhushan Steel is part of the Bhushan Group and is one of the rising stars in the Indian steel industry. The investment in the new iron ore washing plant from CDE is the latest in a long line of significant investments in new production facilities that have seen Bhushan Steel earn a reputation for bringing new technologies and processes to the industry. The CDE iron ore washing plant will have a capacity of 425 tons per hour and will be installed at the Bhushan steel plant in Dhenkanal which is located in the state of Orissa. This will be the largest plant installed by CDE in India and the commitment of Bhushan Steel to continuing innovation in iron ore production is demonstrated through the inclusion of the Automat filter press within the processing system.

The Automat filter press allows for full closed circuit water recycling which ensures that the environmental impact of this iron ore washing plant is significantly reduced. Through the introduction of the filter press over 90% of the water used in the washing process will be recycled, significantly reducing the volume of fresh water required to feed the washing plant.

In addition, the Auotmat filter press significantly reduces the footprint of this processing plant by eliminating the requirement for on site ponds or settling lagoons to handle the waste water from the washing plant. A further benefit is that the health and safety risks on site are also significantly reduced.

"This plant for Bhushan Steel represents significant innovation in the way that iron ore is processed not only in India but globally" explains Dr Arabinda Bandyopadhay, Vice President of Technology & Development at CDE Asia and the person responsible for working with Bhushan Steel on the specification of the new washing plant. "The advantages of the filter press have been demonstrated throughout the world by CDE on numerous projects throughout Europe and the Middle East and the winning of this project is a major milestone for CDE Asia."

Another iron ore washing plant will also be installed for the Steel Authority of India (SAIL), a company owned by the Government of India and the country's largest steel producer. This iron ore washing plant will process tailings from the existing production process to recover high grade ores contained in the smaller particle sizes that their existing process does not capture.

This will be achieved through the introduction of the CDE NanoWash system - a complex configuration of sumps, dewatering screens, magnetic separators and a cluster of hydrocyclones to effectively recover high grade ores in the finest particle sizes and will be located in the state of Jharkland.

"Only through our ability to customise the iron ore washing plant to the very unique requirements of this project is it possible to recover the finest particles of high grade ores" highlights Dr Arabinda Bandyopadhay. "The delivery of this plant will recover material that has until now been a waste product and ensure the Steel Authority of India enjoy significantly improved processes and greater production efficiencies."

India is one of the giants of iron ore production, lying fourth in the global production league behind China, Australia and Brazil. Current production of iron ore in India is around 150 million metric tons per year. While the two countries directly above India in the league table - Australia and Brazil - export over one third of iron ore production, in India the vast majority of material - approximately 90% - is used in Indian industry.

The importance of the iron ore industry to the global economy cannot be over estimated and its significance was highlighted by Christopher Lefemina, Mining Analyst with Barclays Capital who said in October 2009 in an interview with the Financial Times (UK) "iron ore may be ore integral to the global economy than any other commodity, except perhaps oil."

These two new iron ore washing plants for CDE in India are the latest in a long line of processing systems that have been introduced over the last three years and their significance is recognised by the company.

"The winning of these two highly significant projects with both the Bhushan Group and the Steel Authority of India represent a major milestone for CDE Asia" says Managing Director, Manish Bhartia. "Both projects represent yet further innovation in the way iron ore is processed. This has been the central theme in our development within this sector and a continuing focus on improving and developing our products will bring further success in the coming months and years."

Further information on the iron ore processing systems available from CDE can be obtained by visiting their web site at www.cdeglobal.com where several brochures, case studies and videos are available for download.

www.cdeglobal.com