China: The Heart of the Matter

Latest projections from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics suggest that world thermal coal trade will increase by 2% in 2005 and a further 2% in 2006.

According to Abare, Asian demand for thermal coal imports will rise by 3.3%, to reach 284.8m tons during the period, as European imports slide 0.1% to 197.6m tons.

Australian exports are forecast as rising 6.7% over the full period 2004-2006, to 116m tons.

A similar picture emerges in the iron ore sector, where Brazilian iron ore producer CVRD has forecast that world seaborne iron ore trade will expand by 7m tons/year for 10 years from 2006.

With such forecasts in mind, stockyard equipment manufacturers are among the chief beneficiaries of the bid to boost dockside capacity, and for many, China remains the heart of the matter.

Austria’s Voest-Alpine Materials Handling (VAMH) profited throughout 2004, not least through its relationship with Dalian Craneworks. It secured contracts from Jiangspu Provincial Foreign Trade Corporation to supply two stacker-reclaimers for iron ore handling at the port of Nantong, and an order from the same customer for four stackerreclaimers for coal handling at the Huaneng Yuhuan power station.

Also on order, this time from Hebei Province’s Qinhuangdao Port, is a VAMH shipunloader and six 7,240 t/h VAMH stackers, with handover of all of them due by February 2006. The 47 metre boomlength machines will transfer coal from the yard conveyor to the stacker boom conveyor by tripper and transfer chute.

Most recently, VAMH won the design, supply, manufacture, construction and supervision services contract from Shenhua International, covering the Shenhua Tianjin Coal Terminal Project in China, due in service in 2006 with capacity to handle 35m tons. The contract comprises four stackers and six reclaimers.

Techint Technologies’ materials handling business unit meanwhile, recently completed a contract from Changchun Generating Equipment Group covering the engineering and construction supervision of two stacker-reclaimers to be installed at the Guangdong Zhanjiang iron ore terminal in Guangdong Province. The two machines have a stacking capacity of 5,400 tph, reclaiming capacity of 3,600 tph and a boom length of 50 metres.

Terminals in Europe have generated orders – notably the deal through which ThyssenKrupp overcame strong national and international competition to win the contract for the turnkey supply of a combined iron ore stacker (10,000 tph) and reclaimer (2,500 tph) at Taranto last year.

BMA’S BILLIONTH However, it has been the pressure to meet Asian demand in particular that has been driving the need to boost export capacity elsewhere.

Last month, in shipping its billionth ton of coal from its seven Queensland-based Bowen Basin mines, after 38 years of production, the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) cited demand from the steel industry in China, India and Brazil in suggesting that replicating the feat would take slightly less time.

Work at the Hay Point port facility to expand handling capacity to 40m tons already envisages the construction of a new stackerreclaiming machine and additional stockpile capacity, leading to improved operational flexibility for coal stockpiling, retrieval and shipping.

The billion ton milestone also coincided with the formal announcement of the accelerated go-ahead of US$177m in phase 2 developments. BMA ceo John Smith says Hay Point was a key component in plans to increase company-wide metallurgical coal production capacity to around 100m tons by 2010. “Our port expansion activities will maximise coal recovery through improved operational flexibility for coal stockpiling, retrieval and shipping, with flow-on benefits for our customers, ” he notes.

Phase 2 envisages lifting annual capacity by a further 10%, to 44m tpa by the first quarter of 2007. Again integral to the plan is the replacement of an existing stacker with a new, high capacity machine designed to improve handling flexibility, as well as capacity.

Hay Point is by no means an isolated development. Only one month previously, Queensland’s Prime Infrastructure also announced plans to see capacity at Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal (DBCT) increase to 60m tons a year, further unveiling a scheme for a port capable of handling 75m tons a year.

VAMH, again, is delivering a replacement rail mounted bucket wheel reclaiming machine to DBCT. The new 62.5 metre boom length machine will achieve an average handling capability of 4,200 tph and maximum capacity for 5,300 tph. DBCT has also placed a US$38m tender up for grabs to supply four more stacker reclaimers to upgrade its stockyard.

In Brazil, too, growing export volumes are driving fast-track development of refined stockyard systems throughput the transport chain. Next June sees completion of Metso Minerals’ delivery of the bulk material handling solution required by Brazilian steel producer Cia Siderurgica Nacional for the Sepetiba Port Terminal. The turnkey solution includes two stacker-reclaimers offering 8,800 tons p/hr of capacity, plus a reclaimer capable of 6,100 tons/hr capacity.

The company is involved in two other large contracts for Brazil, one of which involves the supply of a bulk materials handling solution to Brazilian steel producer, Cia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN). It includes the delivery of two stacker-reclaimers, each with a capacity of 8 800 tons/hr, and a reclaimer with a 6,100 tons/hr capacity.

Also reaping rewards in Brazil is Techint, which is on its way to completing its contract to supply a ‘giant’ 46 metre boom-length stacker for the mine of Carajas. The turnkey project is part of CVRD’s plan to increase the productivity of the biggest iron-ore mine in the world, currently set at 80m tons/year. The new stacker will be able to stack iron ore at a nominal flow rate of 11,000 tons/hr and at a design capacity of 13,200 tons/hr. The boom length will support a 2,200 mm wide conveyor; in order to form a 44 metre wide and 20 metre height stockpile of iron ore.

A conveyor line of almost 1 km length, necessary to feed the stacker, is an integral part of the contract signed with Techint.