ABB has nabbed a three-year, $19 million service contract to provide onsite process control systems and service and maintenance to Vale Inco Nouvelle Caledonie’s process plant on the South Pacific Island of New Caledonia.
Vale Inco Nouvelle Caledonie extracts and processes the nickel and cobalt deposit in the Goro plateau, which is one of the largest in the world. The plant is expected to produce 60,000 million tons of nickel oxide and 4,300 – 5,000 million tons of cobalt carbonate annually, said ABB.
ABB’s service contract forms part of an overall solution package offered to Vale Inco, and will include the ongoing optimisation and maintenance of the plant’s installed System 800xA process automation system.
ABB says its System 800xA is designed to extend the scope of traditional control systems to include all automation functions in a single operation and engineering environment, which can enable plants to perform smarter and better at substantial cost savings.
“ABB has the global resources, technology and mining industry knowledge to help Vale Inco achieve their growth objectives, with comprehensive support services and forward evolution strategies that protect their existing automation system investments,” said ABB Process Automation division head, Veli-Matti Reinikkala.
“This important contract underscores how our control systems lifecycle support commitment and dedicated resources will help one of largest mineral operations in the South Pacific region meet the challenges of today’s economic environment, and succeed well into the future.”
ABB has secured a number of significant equipment orders for the Vale Inco Nouvelle Caledonie project since 2005, including the supply and engineering of the process control system. ABB also completed the design, engineering and supply of low voltage switchgear, low voltage variable speed drives, turbine protection and control panels, portable switch-rooms and the remote fit-out and cabling of the switch-rooms, including transformers and medium voltage drives.
To date, the combined value of orders awarded to ABB from Vale Inco Nouvelle Caledonie is just under $90 million.