SLURRY PIPELINES : ECOFRIENDLY & SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION FOR TRANSPORTATION OF MINERALS 13.06.17 Presented by : Hitesh Manju, Senior Design Engineer MECON LIMITED
Possible Transportation Options for minerals : MECON LIMITED
SLURRY PIPELINE TRANSPORT NEED Disposal of high-value ore fines requires large land area and is an environmental constraint / hazard Fines transport by road/rail is costly, polluting & leads to loss of material Long distance transportation of ultra fine concentrate shall require special wagons Mineral ore lump & fines currently being transported from sources to plants by rail / road Railways severely constrained with regard to transportation & evacuation of mineral ore Inward & outward railway traffic for mineral ore transportation expected to increase many fold to handle increased requirement Pelletization unit located preferably within steel plant, to take advantages of service facilities (fuel gas, electricity, water, etc.) and utilization of in-plant waste materials
SLURRY PIPELINE TRANSPORT NEED Over saturated route ( 120% capacity utilisation in some sections ). Poor last mile connectivity. No guaranteed transit time, freight train takes 2 days for 500 kms journey. Common track for freight & passenger. No movement of freight train/ road transport in night in some sensitive areas Continuous road transport not feasible. Freight car turn around time is very poor. Hence, such or lumps / ultra-fine ore needs to be transported from mines to plant via slurry pipelines
SLURRY PIPELINE TRANSPORT Environment friendly ADVANTAGES Buried Pipelines (Invisible And Silent) CO2 emission is much lower compared to surface transport. CO2 emission is reduced by above 90% of that of surface transport Minimum social impact, shorter route, easier river crossings (without bridging) and minimum en-route losses Up-gradation and utilization of the unused low grade iron ore available at different mine sites across the country will enhance the resource base and support mineral conservation through Slurry pipeline. Reduction in transportation costs. High system availability (+98%). Helps fulfill statutory requirements of Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) for utilization of lowgrade iron ore through beneficiation
SLURRY PIPELINE TRANSPORT ADVANTAGES Space requirement of pipeline transport is minimal. To compare to other mode of transportation: Inland shipping needs 100 times. Road transport needs 50 times. Rail needs 12 times Easier access for construction, operation & maintenance Elimination of dependency on railways / roads No Impact From Weather, Traffic, Strikes, Social Unrest. Don t require return of empties to starting point ideal for uni - directional traffic. Water pumped along with the slurry can be used as process water at the receiving end plant. MECON LIMITED
SLURRY PIPELINE TRANSPORT LIMITATIONS Relatively high initial CAPEX Dedicated solely to solids transportation, whereas rail or road have multipurpose utility Availability constraint of large volume water as carrier fluid. Stringent quality control required for efficient pipeline operation
SLURRY PIPELINE TRANSPORT GLOBAL SCENARIO First long distance slurry pipeline was established in Arizona, USA, to transport 0.4 MTPA of gilsonite over a distance of 115 km in 1957. Savage River Slurry pipeline, 2.5 MTPA and 85 kms is worlds first (built in 1967) slurry pipeline to transport iron ore in Tasmania, Australia. Samarco Minercao, Brazil operates the 398 km twin iron ore slurry pipelines (20 x 12 MTPA and 16 /14 x 8 MTPA) Samarco s 401 km long 3 rd parallel iron ore slurry pipeline (24 /22 x 20 MTPA)) 24 / 26 x 529 km iron ore slurry pipeline (26.5 MTPA capacity) project of Anglo Ferrous Minas-Rio in Brazil longest & biggest CP Mining, Australia operates the 30 kms iron ore slurry pipelines (32 x 33.6 MTPA) Total iron ore concentrate slurry pipeline systems in operation world wide till date (since 1967): - 18 nos. major pipeline systems - 2400 km cumulative length (approx.) - 71.4 MTPA cumulative capacity MECON LIMITED
SLURRY PIPELINE TRANSPORT GLOBAL SCENARIO Ambatovy Nickel Laterite Slurry Pipeline System, 208 km nickel slurry pipeline (24 x 7.2 MTPA) From Ambatovy mine site to terminal facilities at Toamasina (Tamatave) in Madagascar Antamina Multi-Product Concentrate Pipeline System, 304 km copper/zinc concentrate slurry pipeline (8 /9 /10 x 1.4 MTPA) from the Antamina mine site in Northern Peru Los Bronces Copper Ore Pipeline, 52 km copper concentrate slurry pipeline (28 x 37.5 MTPA) from Los Bronces Mine to a flotation plant in Las Tortolas. MBP Bauxite Ore Slurry Pipeline, 244 km (24 x 13 MTPA) from the Miltonia mine site in the state of Para to terminal facilities in Barcarena on the Amazon estuary near Belem. MECON LIMITED
SLURRY PIPELINE TRANSPORT INDIAN SCENARIO 1 st iron ore concentrate slurry pipeline (completed in 1980) by KIOCL from Kudremukh to Mangalore (7.5 MTPA x 67 km, 18 /16 Dia.) Essar Steel s 6.8 MTPA x 266 km (14 /16 Dia.) slurry pipeline from Kirandul to Vishakhapatnam Essar also operates a 12 MTPA x 253 km (20 Dia.) pipeline from Dabuna mines up to Paradeep Port BRPL also operates a 4 MTPA x 218 km (13.25 Dia.)pipeline from Barbil to Jajpur Road
SLURRY PIPELINE TRANSPORT INDIAN SCENARIO NMDC is laying a 456 km pipeline system from Kirandul Bacheli Nagarnar - Vishakhapatnam to evacuate about 15 MTPA iron ore concentrate Bhushan Steel is planning a 8 MTPA x 125 km pipeline from Kumundi to Meramandali (Odisha) JSPL is planning a 10 MTPA x 200 km pipeline from Barbil to Angul JSW is planning a 15 MTPA x 260 km pipeline from Joda to Paradeep The installations of the slurry pipelines for minerals transportation evidence the technology acceptance in the world.
SLURRY PIPELINE TRANSPORT COMPARISON OF ORE TRANSPORT BY VARIOUS MODES Parameter Road Rail Pipeline Capital Cost for Operator Lowest Medium Maximum Capital Cost for Government Medium Maximum Lowest ROU Acquisition By government By railways By operator Availability of Technology Available Available Available Requirement of Water Lowest Low High Environmentally Clean Minimum Medium Maximum
SLURRY PIPELINE TRANSPORT COMPARISON OF ORE TRANSPORT BY VARIOUS MODES Parameter Road Rail Pipeline Reliability Lowest Medium Maximum Control Over Supply Lowest Medium Maximum Ore Quality & Quantity Less consistent Less consistent Consistent Storage In-plant storage requiring large area In-plant storage requiring large area Minimal in-plant storage required Transportation Cost Maximum Medium Minimum (Rs. / MT / km) (3.0 8.0) (1.0 3.0) (0.3-0.6) MECON LIMITED
SLURRY PIPELINE TRANSPORT SAMPLE CAPEX Approx Capital Cost (Rs. Cr.) Slurry Pipeline (20 x 8 km), 11 MTPA 85 Slurry Pipeline (24 x 135 km), 15 MTPA 725 Slurry Pipeline (20 x 313 km), 13 MTPA 1775 MECON LIMITED
SLURRY PIPELINE TRANSPORT CAPEX BREAK-UP OF 24 DIA. X 135 KMS. SLURRY P/L Sl. No. Facilities % of Total Capex for Major heads 1 Civil & Structural works and Township 10-12 2 Plant & machinery 60-65 3 Engineering, supervision expenses 5-7 4 Pre-operative expenses including interest during construction(idc) 8-10
SLURRY PIPELINE TRANSPORT BREAK-UP OF PLANT & MACHINERY Sl. No Description Approx % of Total Cost 1 Coated Pipes 30 2 Pumps 13-15 3 Others Equipment 13-15 4 Erection 25-30 5 Duties, taxes, Freight others 15-20
TECHNO-ECONOMIC INDICES STEEL TONNAGE REQUIREMENT Pipeline Size Thickness (mm) Steel Tonnage / km Pipeline Size Thickness (mm) Steel Tonnage / km 24 17.5 255 20 17.5 216 14.3 210 14.3 174 10.3 152 10.3 126 7.9 117 7.9 97 22 17.5 233 18 17.5 189 14.3 192 14.3 156 10.3 139 10.3 113 7.9 107 7.9 87 Total 22500 Tons of steel required for 22 x 135 Km. Slurry pipeline project
SLURRY PIPELINE TRANSPORT FUTURE OUTLOOK The government aspires to enhance the country s steel production capacity to 300 million tonnes (MT) by 2030-31 from around 125 MT now it would impart tremendous pressure on railways with respect to inward and outward traffic. Slurry pipelines can play a big role in transportation of iron ore as it is quickly constructed. Slurry pipelines are the best alternative for railways for places where there are connectivity issues. Indian steel industry is reeling under deep financial stress due to cheap imports from China. Slurry pipeline can be the answer to this situation as this is cost-effective and a reliable mode of transportation. MECON LIMITED
SLURRY PIPELINE TRANSPORT FUTURE OUTLOOK As quoted in NATIONAL STEEL POLICY 2017 Transportation of iron ore fines to pelletisation units will be targeted through slurry pipelines and conveyors as it will reduce pollution and decongest transportation infrastructure in mining areas. Document titled Slurry transportation in Indian Mines, was published by Indian Bureau of Mines which quotes as There is possibility to strengthen the pipeline transportation of ores/minerals particularly in hilly terrain where giving infrastructure facility is biggest economic task...the disturbances created by construction of the road in forest area in comparison to lay down a transportation pipeline and its operation directly reflects to the selection of slurry transport through pipe as environment friendly proposition
SLURRY PIPELINE TRANSPORT SUPPORT FROM GOVERNMENT Encouragement of slurry pipeline projects through funding & incentive schemes. Encouragement of R&D works on slurry pipeline transportations. Slurry Pipeline Operations shall be recommended for Carbon credits. Single window clearances. Common carrier concept. Slurry pipeline regulatory body.
THANK YOU MECON LIMITED
TECHNO-ECONOMIC INDICES SLURRY TRANSPORTATION COST PER TON (15 MTPA x 140 km) (13 MTPA x 310 km) Sl. (Cost in INR) No Items 1 Energy 31.24 54.06 2 Water 0.05 0.05 3 Fuel 1.64 1.01 4 Labour 1.54 2.92 5 Rep & maint, Overhead 18.31 56.22 6 Total 52.78 114.26 7 Dep & Interest 49.45 173.02 8 Total incl D&I 102.23 287.28 Say 102 287 (Cost in INR)