The fiftieth gearless mill drive system ordered from ABB will be delivered to the Phoenix Project in Nevada, USA.
Baden, Switzerland -- August 2004 – ABB, the world leader in power and automation technology, announces that it has received the order for the fiftieth gearless mill drive system to be supplied by the company. The order has a contract value of approximately 7 Million Euro. The order was placed by the consultant AMEC in Vancouver, Canada, for and on behalf of the final client Newmont Mining Corporation in Nevada, USA. The Newmont Mining Corporation is the world’s largest gold producer with mines and production plants on five continents. Phoenix is already the third large project, after the projects Batu Hijau in Indonesia and Carlin in Nevada, USA that ABB will execute for the Newmont Mining Corporation.
ABB looks back today on a successful history in the segment of gearless mill drives. The first unit ever built in the world was delivered in 1969 to Ciment Lambert/Lafarge in Le Havre, France. The rating of the drive was 6.4 Megawatt and the mill diameter was 5 meters, approximately 6 meters less than the mills being built today.
The scope of supply for the Phoenix gearless mill drive with a rating of 18,000 HP ( 13.05 Megawatts) includes the pre-fabricated sub-stations equipped with the Cyclo-Converters, the transformers as well as the ring motors. Roebel Bar-windings, a technology developed by ABB, deserve special mention in connection with the supply. These are high power windings which, to date, are only supplied by ABB. The total package is not only very cost effective, but also an extremely efficient and reliable solution.
The contract for the mill drive for the goldmine in Nevada was signed on 14th June 2004 and the system will go into operation 11 months later. ABB was the only company of all the bidders who could guarantee the delivery in this very short time. The Newmont Phoenix project includes the mining and processing of 73.3 million tons of ore with a grade of 0.025 ounces of gold and 0.16% copper per ton. The start of gold production is planned for 2006.
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 103,000 people.