Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
The Siemens Drive Technologies division has been commissioned by CAP Mineria to supply the entire electrical system for the Cerro Negro Norte iron ore mine in the Chilean Atacama region. The plant, situated about 700 km north of Santiago de Chile, is designed for an annual output of about 4 million metric tons of iron ore concentrate.
CAP Mineria (Compania Minera del Pacifico) is the leading company for the production of iron ore concentrates and pellets on the Pacific coast of South America. By expanding its mining capacities, it is responding to the growing demand for raw materials on the global market. The project consists of a new concentrator located directly in the mine, a pipeline for transporting the iron ore concentrate and the necessary expansion of capacity at the port facilities at Puerto Punta Totoralillo.
Siemens is supplying the entire electrical equipment preconfigured in E-Houses for a fast start-up and efficient operation of the plant. The shipment includes a variety of Siemens components, ranging from energy-efficient medium-voltage frequency converters from the Perfect Harmony series, SWG transformers and Tiastar switchgear to a PCS7 automation solution. All components are designed to meet the specific requirements of the mining industry and guarantee simple and reliable operation, while maintaining maximum availability of the overall plant. For example, the topology of the Perfect Harmony frequency converter that is scalable to the customer requirements can be expanded with redundant cells that guarantee operation without any restriction of performance, even in the event of a failure of components.
The automation solution is based on Simatic PCS7 and the Minerals Automation standard which permits simple integration of all plant components with maximum efficiency in the operation of the overall plant from the concentrator, via the pipeline, to the port. By placing this order with Siemens, the customer is counting on the smooth integration of all components in E-Houses, as well as high quality and optimum service from a single source. The order is worth a high single-digit figure of millions of Euros and delivery will be made by May 2013.
