CBMM orders submerged arc furnace from SMS Siemag

CBMM (Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração), Brazil, placed an order with SMS Siemag, Germany, for the supply of a submerged arc furnace (SAF). It is the aim of CBMM to increase the production capacity at the location of Araxá in Brazil. Commissioning is scheduled for the Christmas/New Year period 2016/17.

The scope of supply of SMS Siemag includes the engineering and the supply of a submerged arc furnace, a 15-MVA transformer, a gas cleaning system, a water quench facility as well as a system for the compensation of the reactive power.

The new submerged arc furnace will produce refined niobium concentrate for further processing into ferroniobium (FeNb) and niobium oxides. Niobium is mainly used as micro-alloying element in steel and causes simultaneous increase in strength and toughness. Important segments using micro-alloyed steel are the automotive industry, pipelines for gas and oil transportation and structural applications.

SMS Siemag already supplied submerged arc furnaces to CBMM in the years 1993, 1998 and 2004. CBMM is a private company which was founded in Araxá, Minas Gerais, Brazil in 1955. At present, CBMM is one of the leading producers of ferroniobium worldwide.

One of the submerged arc furnaces at CBMM, the SMS group supplied in 1999

Based on SMS Group information