Save
Print
Oman's Gulf Mining Ferro Alloys plans to double high-carbon ferrochrome production at its Sohar plant by building two new furnaces there, a company official said couple of days ago.
GMFA has applied to Oman's Public Authority for Mining, or PAM, for a chrome ore mining license in the Samail mining district 300 kilometers away from Sohar, that will be used as feedstock for the new furnaces.
GMFA's current output is 50,000 mt/year, running two 30.5 MVA furnaces supplied by a Chinese firm. It plans to add two more furnaces, expanding output capacity to 120,000 mt/year by around 2017.
Production mainly comprises 10-50 mm or 10-100 mm lumps with minimum 56% chrome, maximum 4% silicon, maximum 8% carbon, maximum 0.03% phosphorous, and maximum 0.04% sulfur.
GMFA, under Gulf Mining Group, started production in 2014. It is Oman's second ferrochrome plant following the 75,000 mt/year Al Tamman. Gulf Mining Group itself operates shipping, and is engaged in manganese ore, limestone and gypsum mining.
Other producers have said GMFA is well positioned as it has cost advantages, given it has its own chrome ore supply and access to low power tariffs in Oman that are priced at less than half that in industrialized economies and possibly one of the lowest in the world.
Also, the costs associated with its own mined chrome ore are 20%-30% lower than buying from third parties under current market conditions.
Power to the GMFA plant comes from a 585 MW gas-fired power station operated by Sohar Power. Another power plant is expected to be brought on stream in the Sohar area in the next few years and the timing of the launch of GMFA's new furnaces will be affected by availability of power from the new power station, sources said.
In addition to GMFA and Al Tamman, there are several more ferrochrome projects planned in Oman. The 2014 PAM decree mandated that for mining license approvals, those with value added manufacturing facilities, or participants in government projects are given preferences.
The Omani government created PAM in 2014 under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in an effort to foster growth of non-energy industry and increase employment.
Copyright © 2013 Ferro-Alloys.Com. All Rights Reserved. Without permission, any unit and individual shall not copy or reprint!
- [Editor:Sophie]
Daily News
Research
Magazine
Company Database
Customized Database
Conferences
Advertisement
Trade
Online inquiry
Contact
Tell Us What You Think