$1 million in annual cost savings at an apatite concentrate processing plant in Russia

Situation

Our client, a phosphate fertiliser producer, aimed to reduce the cost of producing concentrate at its processing plant.

What we did

• Conducted an analysis that identified significant potential to reduce the consumption of heavy fuel oil used to dry finished concentrate.
• Determined an efficient level of heavy fuel oil consumption.
• Introduced new processes and tools to sustain the initiatives.

Results

• A $1 million reduction in annual operating costs.
• A 12% reduction in heavy fuel oil consumption.
• A 40% reduction in equipment downtime.
• A 62% reduction in drying equipment repair time.

Heavy fuel oil consumption, kg per tonne of concentrate