News - Tiwest

Proteus forges ahead with $100m Tiwest Expansion EPCM. 

Proteus EPCM Engineers is undertaking the $100m Tiwest Expansion Project at Kwinana, WA, on an EPCM (engineering, procurement & construction management) basis. 

Engineering is well advanced in all areas, and the contracting process for civil, concrete, structural mechanical, piping and electrical construction packages is well underway.  Most key plant and equipment packages are awarded and in manufacture or fabrication.  Construction will commence on site in March 2009. 

The Expansion Project will increase pigment plant capacity from 110,000 tpa to around 150,000 tpa through the addition of a fourth production train and additional product drying and utilities infrastructure.  With expectations for continued strong demand growth in the Asia-Pacific region, the expansion will allow Tiwest to capture future opportunities in this rapidly growing market. 

Some of the main components of the expansion project are:

·         Recycle Gas Blower

·         TiCl4 and Oxygen Heaters

·         Aluminium Chloride Generator

·         Fluidised Bed Reactor (Chlorinator)

·         Sand Separator

·         Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers

·         De-lonised Water Pumps

·         Product Dryers

Safety is a prime focus on this brownfields site, as it is for all Proteus EPCM projects. 
Key participants on the project are Project Manager Bryan Blackburn, Procurement Manager Steve Welsh and Construction Manager Chris Ingham.

Background (from Tiwest’s Website):

The Tiwest Joint Venture is the world's largest integrated titanium minerals production and manufacturing compnay.  Established in 1988, Tiwest operates in Western Australia.  Its facilities include the Coolijarloo mineral sands mine, the Chandala dry mill and synthetic rutile plant and the Kwinana titanium dioxide pigment plant.  Tiwest's operations are based on the development of high quality mineral reserves and the application of sophisticated process technology. 

Tiwest's Kwinana operations complete the transformation of ilmenite sand, mined at its Cooljarloo mine and further processed at its Chandala dry mill and synthetic rutile plants, into titanium dioxide pigment. 

The Western Australian operations of Tiwest are a significant contributor to the community, earning more than $A400 million in annual exports and contributing $A6.6 million in mining royalities to the State Government.  The Kwinana Pigment Plant Expansion Project will inject additional economic benefit for the local community during both the construction and operations phase.