Press Releases
02/14/2012 | NWPC Makes Progress Despite the Arctic Cold
At the coarse crushing block, metalwork assembly is in progress for the operator's room, conveyor, crushers and receiving hopper cover. Cover work at gallery G2 of the coarse ore hopper is complete, and floor pouring will soon begin.
Protective barrier assembly is in progress at the secondary and fine crushing, filtration and drying blocks.
A drying drum was delivered to the filtration and drying facility and is being prepared for installation. Assembly of the roof is also in progress.
At the processing facility, the concrete casting of the foundation plate and installation of the Derek screener are complete and the travelling crane is prepared for assembly.
The internal heating system for closed circuit facilities is complete.
The repair facilities (production and technological service and repair units, offices and workspaces) are soon to be commissioned, as well as the administrative and utility building. At that point, some of the specialists currently working at the MPC administration building in Koashva will move to the MPC site to be closer to production.
The logistics service is responsible for the acquisition of equipment and furniture for the office and multimedia equipment for the assembly hall. The catering service is in the process of purchasing equipment for the dining room and contracting a reliable catering organization. A first aid station will be organized at the administrative and utility building, as well.
Work at the site continues despite complications brought on by the extreme cold weather in Europe. Heavy snowfall is being cleared 24 hours a day and taken out to the tailing dump to store service water.
Workers are continuing with stone drivages and transport adit construction at the opencast mine.
As of February, a total of 2,200 people are working at the MPC site. The number of installers and NWPC employees is increasing permanently and soon the number of workers at the MPC site will reach 3,000–3,500.
The primary objectives for February are to provide the construction site with the necessary piping, cables and electrical power. In March all the facilities will be provided with heat. In April and May the goals are to finish the technological set-up, electrical work and installation of instrumentation and automated equipment.
The cold start for the ore-dressing facility is scheduled for the middle of May. The plan is to subject the ore to a full crushing cycle and load it to a half-hopper warehouse.
Final adjustments and preparations to get equipment ready for commission will continue through the end of June. Commissioning of the concentration factory is scheduled for July 1, 2012, followed by development of an enrichment routine and regulations. Half a million tons of ore will be extracted and accumulated in the ore warehouse by this time, increasing to at least 1.2 million tons by year-end.
