Kemi Mine to switch from oil to LNG

Tornion Voima’s measures towards cleaner heat production continue, now at the Kemi Mine.

Tornion Voima has invested in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) tank and an evaporator station for the Kemi Mine which were installed and commissioned in the autumn of 2019. At the same time, two district heating and steam boilers fueled by light fuel oil were converted to run on LNG. ​

The project also includes an investment in a new 4 MW LNG-fired district heating boiler, which will be delivered and commissioned in the autumn of 2020. The total investment in these projects amounts to around EUR 1.4 million.

“Towards the end of last year, we completed the installation of LNG burners in the reserve power boilers at the Tornio power plant. Now all the reserve power boilers can be used with natural gas and coal gas, which eliminates the use of fuel oil and the resulting emissions. The Kemi Mine investment is an excellent continuation of that, and now oil is no longer used in Tornion Voima’s heat production,” says Aki Hakulinen, Managing Director of Tornion Voima, with a satisfied smile.

Tornion Voima and Outokumpu Chrome have also agreed on supplying the mine with a new heating system that blows air into the mine shaft. The scope of supply includes an LNG storage tank, an LNG evaporator station and a burner system. The system will be completed in the autumn of 2020.

Tornion Voima supplies the heat needed to keep the Kemi Mine’s above-ground buildings warm and the ore smelted, as well as for drying the ore. Kemi Mine is owned by Outokumpu Chrome Oy, a subsidiary of Outokumpu Oyj, and is located north of the city of Kemi. Kemi Mine is the largest drift mine in Finland with an annual production capacity of 2.7 million tonnes of ore. Around 550 people work at Kemi Mine every day, consisting of both Outokumpu staff and employees of service providers.

For more information contact: Aki Hakulinen, Managing Director of Tornion Voima Oy, tel. + 358 50 386 2602

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