RHEWUM Screens for MA´ADEN Project, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

10.11.2008, Saudi Arabia

In May 2008 RHEWUM received an order for screens for the MA´ADEN fully integrated phosphate fertilizer production operation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which will be the world´s largest of this kind.

In May 2008 RHEWUM received an order for Lump Screens for the MA´ADEN fully integrated phosphate fertilizer production operation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which will be the world´s largest of this kind. The screens will be part of the 4.5 million t/a phosphate rock beneficiation plant at the Al-Jalamid phosphate complex in the north of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The order has been placed by the EPC contractor Litwin Europe Middle East, a part of the Bateman Litwin N.V. Group. The order covers three screening machines Type WAU 195x269/1 and three feeders Type AV 1950, each screen for a capacity of 400 t/h – which means a capacity of nearly 10.000 tons per day! Delivery of the screens is foreseen for November and December 2008.

Extraction of Rock Phosphate:  Phosphates are extracted from various minerals, eg. Apatite, Ca5[(PO4)3(OH,F)], by crushing, classifying with screening machines and wet chemical processes. Large deposits are situated in northern Africa (Moroccco, Western Sahara), Florida, Russia, South Africa, China and Saudi Arabia. Former natural Rock Phosphate deposits with highest concentration were found on the Island Nauru in the Pacific Ocean (Nauruit which emerged from Guano). The deposits mined first are exhausted since 2003 but in 2004 new deposits are developed on the Island Nauru. Saudi Arabia is going to further the exploitation of its Rock Phosphate deposits within the next years. Phosphate ressources are limited and most of them are contaminated with Cadmium and/or radioactive heavy metals. Up to now some Phosphate deposits were used as source for Uranium. The Cadmium content differs from deposit to deposit considerably. Many industrial nations have already fixed a limit value for the Cadmium content in fertilizers. In the meantime also the use of “Thomasmehl”, a by-product of iron ore smelting processes, is forbidden due to its high contamination with Chromium.

Today the Rock Phosphate deposits which are usable for fertilizer production are expected to be exhausted earlier than world wide oil fields!