Hi goldhunter,
I reckon I wrote that particular passage after careful consideration of the dynamics and schematics of a rumoured $600M Ring of Fire chromite slurry pipeline, connected to a Nakina modular ferro-alloy processing plant, one segment consisting of a natural gas direct reduction furnace utilizing the New Production Method.
Yes, your comments are very appropriate.
Imagine an advanced pipeline turn-key water recycling system, even before 'state of the art' pre-reduction energy efficient dryers. There are hundreds of technical documents regarding recent improvements to every process of plant operations that can be modified for the Nakina modular complex. Some older sources give a good general understanding of what you point out, e.g., (I picked the first one that floats up on google), "Waste Heat Reduction and Recovery for Improving Furnace Efficiency, Productivity and Emissions Performance".
KWG Resources said on July 29th, 2014, "We have previously indicated that slurrying is an option that might be considered in the early years of mining at the Ring of Fire and the New Production Method has provided encouragement to further study this option. A slurry pipeline south and a gas pipeline north - to generate electricity at the site and for the nearby remote communities - is a development option that we have had scoped and that we have shared with the government. The pipelines go in the ground and under the rivers and don’t need 98 bridges and culverts. The railroad that we studied prior to the Cliffs road proposal, may take some time to achieve social license and economic volumes from market share."
Chromite ore, say 4.15Mt/y, can be mechanically crushed to fines at the [ROF] mine site, for acceptable slurry for a pipeline, as opposed to thermochemical reduced to concentrate [ROF] for trucking or lesser crushed for rail. Remember Cliff's example where "The ROM ORE divides into 33.2Mt/y waste rock (mine strip ratio 8:1) [ROF] + 4.15Mt/y crushed & filtered chromite-bearing unprocessed ore [ROF] = 2.3Mt/y reduced & concentrated or Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) [ROF] which then goes down the north/south transport corridor...".
The gas-fired pre-reduction and direct chromite reduction process at Nakina is a significant factor at product cost reduction. These processes also fit nicely with the particle size of those arriving fine slurries.
A successful chromite project in the Ring of Fire would need to supply and deliver chromium concentrate, ferro-chrome, and nickel at the best long term competitive world price and obtain social license through providing needed infrastructure to mine and local communities respecting conservation environmental models.
Ontario's Far North region stores an estimated 97 billion tonnes of CO2, most of it in peat lands and wetlands, and absorbs every year about 12.5 million tonnes. Non-interference with that absorption rate in the future entails so many factors. A chromite slurry pipeline would be preferential to rail, rail preferential to road, according to interpretation of the "Conservation-Matrix Model". That model focuses on ecological flows, including movements of individual organisms, water, and nutrients, across the region. Maintenance of ecological integrity requires that the landscape matrix play a strong supporting conservation role. The process of managing the extent of the human footprint and associated development activities in a manner that does not compromise the supportive conservation value of the matrix will be as important as the designation of protected areas.
This is a most exciting time for the mouse that roared!
