Giant Kaishan compressors to meet Australian nickel demand

Australia is one of the world’s largest nickel producers with multi-billion dollar sales per annum.

With an ever increasing demand for nickel in the manufacture of stainless steel and more recently as a major component in lithium batteries to store electricity from wind and solar installations, as well as to power the electric vehicles of today and the future, the demand for nickel is set to grow dramatically. The sustainable production of nickel is also essential to meet this future demand as the customers purchasing EVs want to know that the inputs to the manufacturing of these vehicles are also sustainable.

Nickel sulphide is mined before being crushed and concentrated using nickel sulphide floatation technology. The concentrate is then dried and smelted into a granulated matte of 68% pure nickel product. The refinery process converts this base product to 99.8% pure nickel metal powder and briquettes for the local and export markets. Australian refineries will also need to meet a rapidly expanding local and global demand for 99.99% pure nickel sulphate.

To power mining and refinery processes required to meet this rapidly growing demand, superseded compressors are being replaced with Kaishan KRSP 2-stage rotary screw compressors with integral variable speed control.

These compressors employ advanced 2-stage and variable speed technology to each produce compressed air at a rate of 70m³/min at 10barg with a highly beneficial output to input energy ratio. The energy saving operation of these new-age compressors complements the green energy and sustainable production capabilities for Australia’s nickel refining processes.

Each compressor is 4350 x 2200 x 2580 in size and weighs 11,500 kg, and is specially built to handle the hot, dusty and harsh conditions of mining and heavy industrial applications. The compressors will be maintained and serviced by Kaishan partner company, Hoerbiger.

Kaishan Compressors, through their global design and manufacturing facilities, have the capability to design, produce and install custom compressed air solutions for every application. The company supplies a wide range of air compressors from heavy duty rotary screw models to compact compressors for a range of general and specialised applications.