Outotec to deliver ferrochrome plant in China

Outotec has agreed with Mintal Group Co. Ltd., a large manufacturer of ferrochrome and stainless steel, on the design and delivery of a new ferrochrome plant to Baotou, in the Inner Mongolia, China. The contract value is not disclosed but deliveries with similar delivery scope are typically worth of some tens of millions of Euros.

Outotec's scope of delivery includes engineering and supply of proprietary and other key equipment and an operating licence for the proprietary technology for a Steel Belt Sintering plant with annual capacity of 700,000 tonnes of chromite pellets and two 69 MVA smelting furnaces with preheating technology. The new plant will produce annually 300,000 tonnes of ferrochrome and it is estimated to become operational in 2013. "Ferrochrome production for the stainless steel industry and the demand of sustainable technology are increasing in China. We have recently seen a clear tightening of environmental regulations there. Outotec® Ferrochrome Process is a benchmark in terms of energy efficiency and widely used in major ferrochrome producing countries, such as South Africa and Kazakhstan. This is our first delivery of this technology to China and we see great opportunities for further deliveries to help our Chinese customers to meet the future environmental regulations", says Outotec CEO Pertti Korhonen.