FLSmidth to supply machinery and equipment for the extension of UAI’s refinery in Odisha

According to a report, FLSmidth has signed a contract with Hindalco (UAI) to supply machinery and equipment for the extension of Utkal Alumina International’s (UAI) refinery in Odisha, India.

UAI is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hindalco Industries and flagship metal company of the Aditya Birla Group, the world’s largest aluminium rolling company and one of the biggest producers of primary aluminium.

Recently, when Hindalco and FLSmidth finalised the contract in a meeting, Rakesh Mohan, Vertical Head Projects, MCoE, Hindalco, Mumbai, said that he was very pleased and proud to have decided to choose FLSmidth for all the critical parts of the project.

Ander Bech, Regional President for FLSmidth, said: “Hindalco is a global major in the field of aluminium with world-class operating facilities. We are therefore very proud to continue partnering with Hindalco in their expansion programme in which safety and productivity are key.”

The scope of the contract includes bauxite grinding, handling, mud washing, hydrate filtration and gas suspension calcination packages on an engineering procurement and construction basis. FLSmidth will carry out engineering, manufacturing, supply, and erection of all these units.

Bech believes that since FLSmidth covers the entire flowsheet of mining and mineral processing, it is able to provide a strong solution that gives customers the best return on investment when looking at the total cost of ownership.

The deadline to complete the extension work is till the June quarter of 2020. Once completed, the refinery will augment the capacity by 500,000 tonnes per year.

FLSmidth said: “FLSmidth’s state of the art products will reduce the energy consumption, minimise the environmental impact, thanks to greater caustic recovery, and will also reduce planned and unplanned equipment downtime by predictive and prescriptive maintenance.”