Ferrexpo installs new press filtration complex to improve energy efficiency

The equipment installed represents Metso's press filtration technology, which is an example of an upgrade that will complement the company's existing vacuum filter system.

The benefits associated with the modernisation of the filter system include:

• Lower energy consumption in the pelletiser, where the pellets are heated to harden them, due to natural gas consumption, which is expected to be 3% lower (on average) for all pellet types. As a result, the company expects benefits in terms of production costs and greenhouse gas emissions 1.

• Improved product quality, as excessive moisture in raw (unannealed) pellets can lead to cracking when they are heated. The cold compression strength of the company's pellets, which is a key indicator of pellet quality, is expected to increase by 8% for Ferrexpo Premium pellets (65% Fe).

• Increase material throughput across the entire processing plant, resulting in an average 3% increase in productivity.

• Lower iron losses during the conversion of concentrate to pellets. This will result in an average 0.2% increase in iron in the pellets.

Last year, $104 million, or 65% of Ferrexpo's capital expenditure, was allocated to growth projects, with the majority of this going to projects nearing completion as of February 2022 or those that represent low cost and high return opportunities.

"At Ferrexpo, we are proud to support Ukraine. Thanks to our local presence and position as a long-term investor in the country, we were able to provide targeted support during the war," said Ann-Christine Andersen, Chairman of Ferrexpo's Health, Safety, Environment and Community Committee.

Ferrexpo systematically implements projects to improve energy efficiency. In 2015, the company started using sunflower husk as a partial substitute for natural gas. The company built two sunflower husk feed mills for four pellet production lines. Over the five years of replacing gas with sunflower husk, Ferrexpo has managed to replace up to 25% of fossil fuels with cleaner energy in its pelletiser, with the level of husk consumption depending on the type of pellets produced.

In 2022, Ferrexpo invested $161 million in Ukraine's economy, which is in line with its average CAPEX over the past 8 years of $160 million. Thus, Ferrexpo maintained the level of investment activity despite the hostilities in Ukraine.