Weir Minerals win £3.5 million contract in Ukraine

Pump specialists to supply pumps and vales for use at Poltava iron ore mine in Ukraine

WEIR Minerals have secured a £3.5 million contract to supply Warman pumps and Isogate valves to Ferrexpo for use at their Poltava iron ore mine in Ukraine. The new pumps and valves will be used in the transportation of tailings at the site, which is currently undergoing a significant modernization as part of a capital expenditure programme.

Ongoing repair and maintenance services will also be supplied by Weir Minerals from their service centre in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine. The order is due to be delivered in 2014.
 
Ferrexpo’s Poltava site is an open pit mine producing 30 million tonnes of iron ore per year. The mining operator is currently investing US$138 million to extend the life of the operation to 2038.
 
Viktor Lotous, chief executive officer at Ferrexpo Poltava Mining, said: ‘Our Poltava operation is one of Europe’s largest iron ore mines. We believe that Weir Minerals’ pumps and valves will ensure minimum downtime as we look to maintain high productivity levels over the coming years.
 
‘We were impressed by the wide use of Warman pumps and Isogate valves for tailings across Europe and Ukraine, which demonstrates their suitability for Ferrexpo’s operations. An additional benefit for us is the proximity of Weir Minerals’ service centre in Krivoy Rog.’
 
Tony G Locke, managing director of Weir Minerals Europe, added: ‘Ferrexpo required a complex solution and the versatility, reliability and ease of maintenance of our pumps and valves will provide this. The valves on order, at up to 40in, will be some of the largest in use in the world, which speaks volumes of the size of the operation at Ferrexpo Poltava Mining and Weir Minerals’ expertise in this area.
 
‘We hosted Ferrexpo at our UK-based foundry recently, which was an opportunity to demonstrate the breadth of our offering, and this agreement typifies the through-lifecycle support we can provide to mine operators.’