El Salvador lawmakers overturn national mining ban
The legislation will grant the Salvadoran government sole authority over mining activities within the country's land and maritime territory.
Baden, Switzerland, August 18, 2011 — ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won an order from Newmont Mining Corporation to deliver three gearless mill drive (GMD) systems for installation at Yanacocha’s Conga copper/gold project in Peru. It is a follow-up order from the contract for the GMD system engineering that ABB received in August 2010. Fluor Corporation is acting as the EPCM (engineering, procurement, construction management) contractor for this important project. Metso Corporation will be the mill supplier. The Conga project has recently received full funding approval by the Board of Directors of Newmont andBuenaventura, the two main Yanacocha shareholders with 51.35% and 43.65%, respectively.
The contract includes the complete engineering and delivery of a 28 megawatt GMD system for a 42-foot semiautogenous (SAG) grinding mill. In addition, the contract includes the complete engineering and delivery of 15.6 megawatt foot mounted GMD systems for the two 26-foot ball mills. The 28 MW gearless motor will be manufactured in the well known ABB factory in Bilbao, Spain; whereas, the 15.6 MW systems will be produced and assembled in ABB’s GMD assembly factory in Basel, Switzerland.
Acting as a variable speed drive, the GMD allows the mill to start smoothly, reducing mechanical stress, and fulfills the customer_s requirements for flexibility and adjustability of the process, enabling maximum control over the grinding process. ABB gearless mill drive systems feature numerous benefits when compared with conventional geared drive systems: superior reliability, increased process availability, extended life span and improved energy efficiency. ABB is fully committed to working with Newmont to put in place spare parts and maintenance strategies as well as support systems and processes to deliver ABB motors_ recognized reliable operation for the life of the project. ABB delivered the world_s first gearless machine drive in 1969, which is still operating at the Ciment Lamberg-Lafarge cement plant in Le Havre, France.
The Conga project is located inPeru, approximately 900 km north of Lima, at an altitude of 4100 meters above sea level. The project is situated near Newmont’s existing Yanacocha gold mining operations where an ABB GMD has been operating successfully since early 2008.
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 130,000 people.
