Iron ore tailings thickener success in Ukraine

As part of its modernization drive, a mining and processing plant, recently installed 3 x 62 m diameter DELKOR high-rate thickeners, with a view to reducing electricity consumption for the pumping of tails by one and a half times, as well as a reducing the use of process water.

High-rate thickeners for dewatering of iron ore tailings in Ukraine
Birds eye view of the 3 x DELKOR high-rate thickeners.

The project concerns the design, engineering and supply of 3 x DELKOR 62 m high-rate thickeners for the dewatering of iron ore tailings as part of the processing plant’s modernized slurry thickening complex. 

This modern complex, of which construction was completed in 2020, now does away with outdated slurry pump stations and adopts the efficient process of thickening, hydraulic transport and storage of slurries.

Employing DELKOR’s latest generation feedwell design that boasts improved flocculation together with improved flocculant and slurry kinetics, these elevated thickeners boast large feedwells, which rank as some of the largest ever built. By employing Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling, test work and our experience across more than 36 years of thickener supply across more than 45 countries, we know what works and doesn’t!
 
Ramesh Mahadevan, Regional Managing Director – DELKOR, had this to say upon successful commissioning of the thickeners: “This project is a very important reference for us in Ukraine. Given current global conditions, working with a new end user is a noteworthy achievement and one for which our entire DELKOR team must be commended. It pays to talk to a specialist!”