Successful commissioning in Oman

The first investment project outside Brazil for Vale, the Brazilian mining concern, is now being commissioned. The iron-ore pellet factory in the port of Sohar, Oman, produces up to 10 m. tonnes of iron-ore pellets annually. It provides the steel industry in the Middle East with iron-ore pellets. In the sphere of conveying technology Vale ­employs four Aumund deep-drawn pan conveyors, drag chain conveyors and bucket-elevators. They were designed and assembled by Aumund’s Metallurgy Division for the specific requirements in Sohar and have now been successfully commissioned.

The order encompassed two packages. The first package comprised four identical deep-drawn pan conveyors (KZB 2000/350/6) and four identical drag chain conveyors (TKF 800/2). The deep-drawn pan conveyors with an axis distance of 64 metres receive around 760 tonnes per hour of the hot pellet material from vibratory troughs at up to 300° C. The conveyors are designed for a capacity of up to 1125 t/h. At a conveyor speed of 0.24 metres per second the pellets are conveyed to a grizzly feeder for further processing. Below the deep-drawn pan conveyors the drag chains run concurrently (axis distance 47 metres). They accept potential free-flowing material and thus permit almost maintenance-free operation.

The second package comprises two belt bucket-elevators or chain bucket-elevators each (BWG 630/360 or BWZ- L 400/250). The belt-bucket elevators have an axis distance of 23.5 metres and a conveying capacity of up to 800 t/h. They are employed for iron ore transport. Both the chain bucket-elevators are employed for the transport of pellets with a grain size of up to 16 mm and a temperature of up to 400 °C. They have a conveying capacity of between 10 and 50 t/h at their disposal. An important argument in the contract award was Aumund’s many years’ experience in conveying hot and abrasive materials. Similar recent projects were successfully commissioned in Bahrain (GIIC) and in Iran (Ardakan Pelletizing).