After producing raw materials from the bauxite base at the Rastuschaya station, which our company had used for many years, ZAP was forced to switch to imported purchases completely. At the same time, we encountered difficulties due to the unstable quality of bauxite. Today, the plant is considering an investment project to solve this problem and make production more efficient. This is a bauxite enrichment project. We talked about it with the Deputy Chairman of the Board, Pavlo Zhludenko.

– Pavlo, the other day, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board presented for consideration by a particular circle of specialists a presentation of the investment project “Improvement of the technological process of agglomeration at the Zaporizhzhia Abrasive Plant during the production of brown electrocorundum”. This is a bauxite enrichment project to which you are directly related. Please tell us why it is essential for us.

The plant is increasingly faced with the problem of the quality of raw materials used to produce finished products. This applies particularly to bauxites. I want to note that a similar situation exists in other enterprises, such as the coal or mining industries. This trend is observed due to the mass development of raw materials.

The use of raw materials with deviations from the quality leads to a deterioration of the technological process, a decrease in furnace productivity, an increase in technological downtime due to equipment repairs and, as a result, a deterioration in the technical and economic indicators of products, which directly affect the profitability of the enterprise.

In order to achieve constant grinding wheel quality, we need stable starting materials. Production cannot fully influence the change in the quality characteristics of grinding materials. Therefore, it is very important for us to use raw materials of stable quality. Bauxite enrichment will allow us to achieve this.

– How was the idea of bauxite enrichment born and developed?

– Initially, we faced finding a reducing agent alternative to petroleum coke. Previously, as you know, anthracite was used at the plant to produce electrocorundum. Due to the lack of supply, petroleum coke is imported from abroad. In preparing information on materials alternative to petroleum coke, which we were engaged in with the chief technologist Oleg Sezonenko, it became clear that we needed to pay attention to the quality of the bauxite used. We studied a large body of literature on this topic, starting from the 1950s, took into account analytical data from previous years for our enterprise, compared them with the indicators we have today, analysed all this information and prepared a summary that allowed us to calculate the economic feasibility of enrichment.

– What conclusion did you reach after analysing the collected information?

Our assessment of the data and the preliminary economic analysis showed that enriching bauxite will give us raw materials with stable quality indicators, from which we will be able to produce marketable products of better quality. As a result, we will increase profitability and achieve stable profits.

– Can purchasing bauxite from one supplier ensure stable quality?

Even from one supplier, the quality of bauxite can be different. Suppliers generally have several deposits and can combine their products. Production should not depend on one supplier; there are risks in this.

– How is bauxite enrichment carried out?

– There are several methods of bauxite enrichment. For example, washing, flotation, chemical enrichment, and magnetic separation exist. The essence of any of them is to remove unnecessary impurities from bauxite or reduce their content to acceptable values.

– That is, will we be able to bring its composition to the indicators we need, no matter what the characteristics of bauxite are?

– Yes. The leading indicator in bauxite is aluminium oxide. The bauxite we use also contains other components, such as silicon, titanium, and calcium oxides, which significantly affect the quality characteristics of our commercial products and the operation of electrocorundum smelting furnaces. The presence of these components can lead to increased load on the furnace elements and other equipment used in the production process. Bauxite enrichment will allow us, roughly speaking, to remove silicon oxide from some bauxite, calcium oxide from others, etc. And obtain a material of stable quality at the output.

– Which of the methods of bauxite enrichment do you consider the most acceptable for us?

They all have pros and cons, their nuances. Some, for example, remove small components, while others use grinding for high-quality enrichment. Chemical enrichment requires significant financial investments, as it can affect the environment; magnetic separators can remove metal inclusions; when using wet enrichment (water), dryers or calciners are also needed.

We are considering various options, including the option of complex enrichment using not one but two or three methods.

– What will we get as a result?

– As a result, we will have a good economic effect because the electricity consumption per 1 ton of produced products will decrease. We will get high-quality material at the output, not just high-quality, but of stable quality. At the same time, this quality will likely satisfy all consumers, and our production will not need to sort the products produced. In the future, it is possible to consider the issue of increasing the selling price of products, which will positively affect its profitability. And stable profit will allow us to develop.

By the way, implementing the bauxite enrichment project will also allow us to process by-products currently formed in the production process. For example, those that are, in fact, commodity products but are not in demand among consumers or which, due to their unstable chemical and fractional composition, are sold at a low price. They can be enriched, and we will get high-quality products at the output.

– Which site could bauxite be enriched at?

To decide where to enrich bauxite best, the economic feasibility must be separately calculated. There is a place for placement on the plant’s territory. I believe engaging in bauxite enrichment near the sintering plant would be most expedient. We are currently freeing up space there. Whether it will be enough will become apparent after a more detailed study of the project. We can also consider the territory of our bauxite base on Rastushkaya.

– And at the site of bauxite development?

– This is a feasible option because, as a result of enrichment, “by-products” will be formed, such as those that are removed from bauxite: silicon, titanium, calcium, and others. Enriched bauxite, without these materials, has less weight and volume, which allows us to reduce logistics costs. In this case, we need to transport less raw materials by sea and rail. What does it mean to reduce the associated material costs?

Therefore, as I have already said, the location should be determined based on detailed economic calculations.

– Are there any bauxite enrichment plants in Ukraine?

– As far as I know, no. There are not many bauxite deposits in Ukraine, but they are there, near Kryvyi Rih, for example. They have their qualitative characteristics, but they can be considered when deciding on the location of an enrichment site. By the way, our enterprise once tested bauxite deposits in Ukraine.

– With what result?

All of them can be used in our production. Mining has nuances. These deposits have not been developed.

– What other Ukrainian enterprises use bauxite in their work?

Besides us, there is the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant. Previously, they were also used by the Zaporizhia Aluminum Combine. That, in principle, is probably all.

– A rough estimate of the economic effect of the project implementation has been made. What are the next steps?

The first step we have already taken is to resume the work of the technical re-equipment committee at the plant. Next, design work, feasibility studies, and more detailed calculations are necessary. We also need to determine the supplier with whom we will work in the future, the location of this site, etc.

– Is all this possible without attracting external investments? Can the plant implement this project itself?

– I think that at the moment, we do not have the financial capabilities to provide investment projects, so we need to attract additional funds. But we can improve the existing schemes for preparing raw materials.

– So now, its further life depends to a certain extent on whether we find investments. Or will we start working on it anyway?

– I am sure that this project must be considered without fail because even the preliminary calculations that have been made so far confirm that the project will have a positive economic effect. Yes, it will depend on the price of electricity and other factors that we cannot influence. However, using high-quality raw materials to produce abrasives will improve the quality characteristics of our commercial products, which will ultimately positively impact the place occupied by ZAP in the world market. When an enterprise has stable quality and volumes, this contributes to long-term cooperation and inevitably brings the income necessary for further development, which makes it possible to implement other ambitious plans.

– Are there specialists at the plant who can implement the project?

– This is a new direction for the plant, and those specialists who work here have either no or minimal experience in enrichment in the mining industry. I am sure that there is none in bauxite enrichment. Therefore, in the future, we will need to involve scientists and workers with experience in bauxite enrichment or who have done something similar to the project.

– What are the goals and objectives of the technical re-equipment committee?

– It includes all the main specialists of our enterprise. The technical re-equipment committee deals with issues of modernising existing equipment, re-equipment, or improvement of production lines, and works on projects for the further development of our enterprise.

– That is, not only the bauxite enrichment project.

Yes, various projects and vectors of movement are being considered. The fact is that now the plant is working in only one direction. At the same time, we have a lot of free space where we can locate additional production that is in demand on the market, for example, a site for the production of building materials or even for growing flowers.

– At one time, this was the case.

– Yes, and this was some help for the plant and the employees. I think that we will work in this direction shortly. Moreover, we are aimed not so much at obtaining an additional product as a secondary production but at obtaining additional profit for our enterprise. We are considering various ambitious projects. However, each project must be supported by economic calculations.

– Who directly supervises the bauxite enrichment project?

– The Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Maksym Bielawski, supervises it. I, Deputy Chairman of the Board Dmitro Garmash, and Chief Technologist Oleg Sezonenko are directly involved.

– With a favourable schedule, that is, with the availability of investments and other necessary tools, in what period, in your opinion, could we implement this project from the beginning to the production of products?

– Implementing the full cycle will likely take at least two years. However, we plan to improve the existing scheme for preparing raw materials in the near future.

– Currently, electrocorundum is being smelted in two furnaces. Accordingly, the need for raw materials has increased significantly. How is production being managed?

Yes, since March 7, we have been operating in two furnaces. Accordingly, our need for raw materials, the same bauxite, has increased. So has the load on personnel and equipment, especially on the sintering plant. The need for maintenance and repairs of equipment has also increased.

– You have already said that bauxite enrichment will positively affect the productivity of electric corundum smelting furnaces. And will it affect the operation of the sintering plant?

– Of course. In a positive way. The plant now receives unstable quality bauxite; their fractions differ significantly from each other – from sand to pieces of 200-300 millimetres in size, and sometimes more. Different equipment is required to prepare them for use in production. We have only one preparation line, and it does not change depending on the characteristics of bauxite from delivery to delivery. When we enrich bauxite, its fractional composition at the output will be stable. Accordingly, the wear of crushing and sorting equipment will decrease. I think that after enrichment, bauxite will have not only a constant chemical but also a constant fractional composition. The fraction will be small, the material will be more free-flowing, and therefore, the load will be reduced not only on the crusher but also on lifting mechanisms, such as cranes and grabs – they will fail less and require less corresponding financial investments.

 – You call the enrichment project ambitious. The overhaul of the smelting furnace is also, to some extent, ambitious, but we have mastered it.

The furnace overhaul was a complex project but a standard one for us. It is carried out at a certain frequency, and we have experience and specialists. When new production is introduced, it is a challenge for all our specialists—mechanics, electricians, power engineers—and everyone. But I hope we will cope with it, too.