【History of Haichuan Pipelines】The iron ore transportation pipeline in Paragominas, Brazil, is unique in the world
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Brazil is one of the key countries in the world for aluminum production. Global aluminum companies such as Alcoa, Rio Tinto, Hydro, and South32 are involved in the development of Brazil’s aluminum industry. Alumina and bauxite are products in which Brazil holds a competitive edge on the global stage, with large quantities being exported. In 2017, Brazil exported 8.76 million tons of alumina and 8.97 million tons of bauxite. The Paragominas mine is located in the state of Pará, in the northernmost part of Brazil, and is part of the eastern Amazon region. It was completed in 2007, and in 2017 the bauxite production volume was 11.4 million tons, accounting for about 3% of the global total production. The second phase of the Paragominas mine was completed in 2008, increasing its production capacity to over 15 million tons.
The Paragominas bauxite mine possesses unique characteristics on a global scale; it was the world’s first bauxite mine to integrate mining processes with ore processing and pipeline transportation. Starting in 2001, Vale conducted bauxite exploration and technical evaluations across the entire Paragominas bauxite region, and ultimately built its first Vale mine on the Miltenia Plateau, with reserves equivalent to 300 million tons of ore suitable for processing. Due to various factors such as the mineralization characteristics of Paragominas and the rainy climate in Brazil, mining operations in this area face two major challenges: a high ratio of extraction to stripping (7.6) and high rainfall levels. Therefore, the mining at this quarry uses hydraulic excavators and bulldozers for waste removal, and hydraulic excavators and trucks for ore extraction.
To ensure the supply of bauxite to the nearby Alunorte alumina plant via pipeline transportation, bauxite is conveyed over a 244-kilometer pipeline to the Alunorte alumina plant located in Barcarena. The basic approach involves first setting up a raw material grinder at the bauxite mine, where bauxite, lime, and water are added in proportion; the resulting bauxite slurry has a moisture content of 45–55%； Next, the aluminum slurry is pumped and transported through pipes into the aluminum slurry tank in the alumina plant ； It is then filtered using a filter press; the moisture content of the filter cake after filtration is below 20%, after which it is sent to an aluminum ore storage area for storage, with the moisture content being reduced to below 10% ； Finally, the bauxite filter cake is conveyed by a belt conveyor or a plate feeder to the raw slurry tank in the alumina plant, where it is mixed with the recycled mother liquor for metering and batching.
【History of Haichuan Pipes】The summary post is being updated continuously; learn about the development process of various pipes at https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3068575-1-1.html (Source: Huahai Chuanliu – Haichuan Chemical Forum)
SMM News: On August 18, 2020, local time, Norsk Hydro issued a statement on its official website stating that maintenance work on the ore transport pipeline at its Paragominas bauxite mine in Brazil has been suspended. This pipeline is used to transport bauxite from the Paragominas mine to the Alunorte alumina plant, and the production of alumina at Alunorte will also be affected as a result. Hydro plans to repair two sections of the pipeline in the third and fourth quarters of this year, as part of a long-term maintenance plan ； Preliminary inspections revealed that the condition of certain sections of the pipeline was quite severe; as a result, the maintenance period will be longer than expected. The pipeline will be ready for use again within two months. Hydro stated that this maintenance work will result in a reduction in production at the Alunorte alumina plant, with the extent of the reduction estimated to be between 35% and 45% of its total annual capacity. Official figures indicate that the plant’s annual production capacity is 6.3 million tons; Hydro will disclose the actual impact on production in its quarterly financial reports, and SMM will continue to monitor the situation. According to SMM’s calculations, assuming an impact of 35–45% on total production capacity, the annual production affected is approximately 3.465–4.095 million tons. Taking into account a 2-month maintenance period, the actual reduction in production amounts to about 578,000–683,000 tons, which translates to a monthly reduction of around 289,000–342,000 tons. Unlike the production cuts at the Alunorte alumina plant in 2018, overall alumina supply abroad was in surplus in 2020, with the monthly surplus exceeding 400,000 tons. The main reason for this was the reduction in electrolytic aluminum production abroad due to price factors, coupled with new alumina production capacity coming online overseas; for example, EGA added around 2 million tons of alumina production capacity in 2019. Furthermore, the sharp rise in overseas alumina prices in 2018 was also driven by transportation issues of alumina overseas resulting from the sanctions imposed on RUSAL. Since the first half of the year, China’s monthly imports of alumina have ranged between 300,000 and 400,000 tons. The accident at Hydro may have a weaker impact on alumina prices compared to what happened in 2018, and its effect on domestic supply is relatively limited. Overall alumina imports might decline in the future, but the revival of idle production capacity in China will quickly fill any resulting gap in imports. Paragominas pipeline operated by Hydro suspended, affecting Alunorte’s alumina production https://news.smm.cn/news/101243428
The designed production capacity of the Maocchang bauxite mine is 1.2 million tons per year, and it serves as a key resource source for the long-term development of a large aluminum company in Guizhou. The mine is located 64 km away from the company’s alumina plant, resulting in extremely difficult transportation conditions; therefore, it is particularly important to find a solution for transporting the bauxite ore once the mine starts operating. Long-distance pipeline transportation has been successfully implemented in a few mines in China since the 1990s. Compared with railway and road transportation, it offers advantages such as shorter transportation distances, lower infrastructure costs, minimal or no land occupation, no environmental pollution, and immunity to external factors. After conducting extensive research on successful examples of long-distance slurry transportation pipelines both domestically and internationally, the company plans to use long-distance slurry pipelines for transporting the ore