Vacon delivers more than 300 AC drives to Talvivaara
The AC drives manufacturer Vacon has signed a contract worth nearly
two million euros with Finland-based Talvivaara Project Ltd. Vacon
will deliver more than 300 AC drives with the total power of
approximately 37 MW to Talvivaara's nickel mine under construction in
Sotkamo in the Kainuu region, Finland. The most important factors for
their choosing Vacon as the AC drives supplier were Vacon's technical
solutions, especially the ATEX-certified temperature supervision of
motors which are placed in potentially hazardous areas.
"We are very pleased that Talvivaara Project Ltd has chosen Vacon as
their AC drives supplier. Our technical solutions and services
ideally meet the needs of the mining industry where the reliability
of equipment and prompt customer support are highly essential. We are
enthusiastic about starting cooperation with Talvivaara also because
both companies share the same drive for entrepreneurship," says
Heikki Hiltunen, Executive Vice President, Vacon.
Vacon will deliver more than 300 AC drives in the power range of 1 -
630 kW to control pumps, fans and conveyors at the Talvivaara mine,
which is expected to be operational at the end of 2008. The use of AC
drives enables process control, and allows significant energy savings
to be achieved, especially in the control of pumps and fans. At the
Talvivaara mine, the Vacon AC drives will control, among others, the
pumps used in bioheapleaching, the dissolution of metals from ore.
Vacon AC drives require only a small space for assembly, and they
endure well in hot, dirty and dusty ambient conditions. The Vacon AC
drives to be delivered to Talvivaara will have a fully integrated
ATEX-certified thermistor input, specially designed for the
temperature supervision of motors that are placed in potentially
hazardous areas. Supervision of motor temperatures is required in
explosive atmospheres, such as in the mining industry.
The Talvivaara deposits in Sotkamo, Eastern Finland, comprise one of
Europe's largest untapped sulphide nickel resources. With a planned
annual production of approximately 33,000 tonnes of nickel,
Talvivaara has the potential to provide 2.3% of the world's current
annual production of primary nickel by 2010. The mine is also
expected to produce zinc, copper and cobalt, and the deposit is
sufficient to support anticipated production for a minimum of 24
years. Talvivaara Project Ltd's parent company Talvivaara Mining
Company Ltd. was listed in the London Stock Exchange on June 1, 2007.
Vacon in brief:
The Vacon Group was founded in 1993 for one purpose only: to create,
develop and provide AC drives worldwide. The company's ambition is to
meet the most demanding needs of customers looking for the ultimate
in performance, ease of use and reliability. Vacon offers AC drives
in the power range of 0.25 kW...5 MW. In 2006, the Group revenues
totalled EUR 186.4 million.
Vacon Group
Further information:
Heikki Hiltunen, Executive Vice President, Products and Markets,
Vacon Group, mobile +358 (0)40 8371 609
Press contact:
Catarina Fant, Director, Brand Management and Communications, Vacon
Group, mobile +358 (0)40 8371 276, e-mail catarina.fant(at)vacon.com
www.vacon.com
