Improving productivity at Boliden Harjavalta
An Outotec Plant Performance Assessment helped the Boliden Harjavalta copper smelter and refinery to identify potential for improving plant productivity after a major change in its operations strategy.
Boliden Harjavalta is a smelter and refinery in western Finland that processes copper and nickel. Its main products are copper cathodes, nickel matte, gold, and silver. The plant also produces sulfuric acid as a by-product. Boliden Harjavalta has a long history, with operations dating back to 1936. In 1949, a revolutionary new energy-efficient flash smelting method for copper concentrates was developed and introduced at Harjavalta. One of the plant's key advantages is that it can process ore containing higher impurity levels than its competitors. Continuous improvement is an important strategy at Boliden Harjavalta and it has been a driver for change in operations and maintenance strategy and practices.
To gain a clearer picture of the current situation and potential for improvement, Boliden Harjavalta engaged Outotec to carry out a plant performance assessment. Conducted by Outotec's experienced team of experts, the assessment provides a comprehensive picture of the as-is situation in terms of the plant operations and a clear understanding of maintenance development issues.
"This has been a very informative and educational process for us," says Timo Lehtinen, Production Operation and Maintenance Director at Boliden. "The assessment has already paid for itself in the early phases of the process by giving us a better understanding of our process procedures. We look forward to deeper cooperation with Outotec," he continues.
Achieved benefits
- Improved understanding of as-is situation
- Clear understanding of overall improvement potential
- Identification of main actions to support productivity improvement
- Improvement in maintenance and reliability
- Intangible benefits in the areas of safety and human resources
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For more information, please contact us at marcoms@outotec.com
