Eramet Norway has a century of experience in manufacturing manganese alloys. This knowledge base, developed over generations, is Eramet Norway’s most important resource and asset. This expertise has also made the company a leader in smelting and refining manganese alloys.

Today, the refining process is an advanced, highly technological process that few other countries in the world are able to emulate. From the time an optimal mix of ore and coke is blended and sent to the furnace, and until the crucial refining process has been completed, precision and experience are essential. With the aid of an advanced control system, every stage of production is monitored in detail, and the laboratories take samples at regular intervals to test quality.

From the time an optimal mix of ore and coke is blended and sent to the furnace, and until the crucial refining process has been completed, precision and experience are essential.

Investing in a sustainable future

Eramet’s Norwegian processing plants are committed to green technology and future-oriented solutions, and we have made massive investments in:

  • environmental filters to eliminate smoke and dust emissions
  • a cleansing facility for heavy metals
  • energy recycling
  • a water purification facility
  • environmental awareness training for all employees

Eramet Norway produces metals using clean, renewable hydroelectric power and is the world’s most environmentally friendly manganese producer.

We continuously improve our processes, equipment and human resources so that the company can maintain its position as a world-class producer:

  • The plants make use of modern technology and control systems in all areas.
  • Our technologically skilled employees ensure optimum use is made of the equipment.
  • Our processing facilities deliver high reliability, high efficiency, high uptime and high-quality output.

Raw materials from our own mine

Eramet Norway handles significant amounts of raw materials in its production processes. These raw materials come from suppliers in Norway and abroad and primarily comprise:

  • manganese ore
  • metallurgical coke
  • quartz and limestone

Other important factor inputs are electrode paste and metallic silicon sources. During the smelting process, a number of internal products are produced and consumed. They are transferred as required to other parts of the same plant and between the three processing facilities.

The Eramet Group owns several mines, including the Moanda Mine in Gabon. Manganese ore from the mines is transported to Eramet’s plants in Asia, the United States, Europe and South America, and is an important component in alloy production.

Manganese ore shipped from West Africa

Manganese ore is transported by sea to Norway from the mine in Gabon, West Africa. The ore is extracted in several places in the mine, and different quality grades from different areas of the mine are mixed to obtain the correct composition. After this, the manganese is transported several hundred kilometres by rail before it is loaded onto ships. At all stages, the focus is on delivering the right-quality product at the right time.

Once the ore reaches Norway, the manganese enters the production process in the Norwegian plants. At the three processing facilities, the ore is stored and quality-assured before it is sent to the furnaces along with other raw materials such as coke and slag-forming ingredients.

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Production of manganese alloys

Production at a glance

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ManganeseMetallurgyFerroalloysPAH
Manganese is a metallic element belonging to Group 7 in the Periodic Table of Elements. Pure manganese is a steel-grey metal. It is hard, but at the same time so brittle that it can be pulverized. After iron, manganese is the most frequently occurring metal in the earth’s crust.
Metallurgy is the branch of science concerned with the extraction of metals (process metallurgy or extractive metallurgy) and with the study of metallic structure, properties and physical behaviour (physical metallurgy, including metallography).
Ferroalloys (from ferro-, meaning iron), in the broadest sense, comprise all iron alloys. Normally the term ferroalloys is used as a general designation for the alloys containing iron and other metals. Ferroalloys is also the term for semi-metals used in steelmaking as deoxidizers and alloy additives. Most ferroalloys are created by smelting in industrial electric furnaces using coke as a reducing agent. Low-percent ferromanganese (spiegel) and low-percent ferrosilicon can be produced in blast furnaces. Ferromanganese, ferrosilicon and silicomanganese are produced in Norway.
PAH, or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, are organic compounds of carbon and hydrogen. They are found in minute quantities in the environment and are formed by incomplete combustion. They are usually emitted as soot particles. Many of the compounds have carcinogenic effects, for example benzopyrene. PAH is found in tobacco smoke, smoked foods, tar, used motor oil, etc. The majority of PAH derives from fossil fuel combustion (oil, petrol, coal), but small amounts can also be generated by frying or smoking foodstuffs. In Norway, the most important sources of PAH pollution are considered to be aluminium plants, the metallurgical industry, offshore oil activity, transport and wood burning.