THE ECHO - Ferrostaal
THE ECHO - Ferrostaal
THE ECHO - Ferrostaal
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32<br />
projects & contracting<br />
A GROWING MARKET IN MAURITANIA<br />
IRON ORE PELLETS IN GREAT DEMAND<br />
The West-African nation of Mauritania is rich in iron ore deposits. MAN <strong>Ferrostaal</strong> is investigating the feasibility of opening a new<br />
iron ore mine on behalf of the state-owned iron ore company SNIM, Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière. The iron ore will be<br />
processed into concentrate and then refined into high-quality iron ore pellets. Iron ore pellets are used in direct reduction plants<br />
worldwide for the production of steel.<br />
On behalf of the Mauritanian project<br />
management company EL AOUJ S.A. MAN<br />
<strong>Ferrostaal</strong> is conducting a feasibility study<br />
examining the economic efficiency of a<br />
new iron ore mine. The investment and<br />
costing calculations mainly focus on iron<br />
ore processing, an iron ore pellet plant,<br />
materials handling, a power plant, electricity<br />
supply, assembly, and infrastructure.<br />
The new deposit is located close to existing<br />
mines in the town of Zouérate. The iron ore<br />
deposit is estimated to amount to about<br />
650 million tons. With a mining capacity<br />
of approximately 15 million tons per year,<br />
it should be possible to produce 7 million<br />
tons of iron ore pellets. The existing<br />
railway line will be extended for the<br />
transportation of the finished product to<br />
the coast.<br />
A FAMILIAR MARKET<br />
Mauritania is a familiar market for MAN<br />
<strong>Ferrostaal</strong>: business started 40 years ago,<br />
when <strong>Ferrostaal</strong> supplied 142 heavy railway<br />
cars for the transportation of iron ore<br />
concentrate to the former French colony.<br />
These were employed on the newly built<br />
700 km stretch of railway between the<br />
mine in Zouérate in the middle of the<br />
Sahara and the sea port of Nouadhibou.<br />
The good contact with the state-owned<br />
iron ore company SNIM resulted among<br />
other things in MAN <strong>Ferrostaal</strong> winning<br />
another contract for an iron-ore processing<br />
plant. MAN <strong>Ferrostaal</strong> supplied rolling<br />
presses, conveyor systems, production<br />
equipment, steelwork and electrical equipment,<br />
and supervised the assembly and<br />
commissioning of the iron-ore reduction<br />
plant.<br />
GREAT POTENTIAL<br />
Industrial development in Mauritania offers<br />
MAN <strong>Ferrostaal</strong> countless opportunities.<br />
Projects currently in the pipeline include<br />
diesel power plants, expansion of the ironore<br />
port in Nouadhibou, repair and extension<br />
of the existing SNIM railway line, construction<br />
of a new stretch of railway to develop the<br />
country’s southern corridor, development of<br />
very high-quality phosphate ore production,<br />
and modernisation and development of the<br />
existing iron-ore production facility.<br />
In addition, local oil production (75,000 barrels<br />
per day), which began in February 2006,<br />
and Mauritania’s very promising offshore<br />
reserves of natural gas are opening up new<br />
horizons for potential projects utilising gas.<br />
Burkhard Willems