- Expansion of Europe’s largest tailings pond completed
- The new facility is environmentally neutral
- Contract value: PLN 588 million
The expansion of the “Żelazny Most” Tailings Storage Facility for KGHM Polska Miedź, which has been carried out by Budimex SA since 2018, has come to an end – 7 months ahead of schedule. “Żelazny Most” is the largest facility of this type in Europe. It can even be seen from space. Thirty National Stadiums could fit on its surface.
The main agreement with the Investor – the Hydrotechnical Plant of KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. – was signed and the works began in May 2018. The construction of the facility was divided into two contracts: The first one concerned the construction of the eastern dam in the Rudna Commune and the western dam in the Polkowice Commune, The second contract was the construction of water, electricity and teletechnical management infrastructure along with control and measurement equipment (I&C).
“Żelazny Most” is environmentally neutral and completely protects the natural environment against water accumulating in the reservoir. During the expansion of the facility, the safest variant of the construction and sealing of the dams was implemented, both in terms of hydrotechnical and Environmental. “Żelazny Most is one of the world’s largest reservoirs for the disposal of flotation waste. To expand it with the Southern Quarter, we used modern technologies, which guarantee safe and effective use of the facility – comments Artur Popko, President of Budimex SA.
On the construction site, we maintained a high level of cooperation between many teams of the Budimex Group. Over 100 of our equipment units worked on it, some of which were purchased specifically for the needs of this investment. The equipment work was carried out by our Hardware Services Department. The progress of the works was scanned by laser and updated on an ongoing basis in the BIM system in cooperation with the BIM Innovations Team of the Budimex SA Technical Office. As a result, as part of the construction of the reservoir, Budimex processed 30 million tonnes of soil and built 140 km of water supply, energy and telecommunication installations – adds Artur Popko.
The total area of the Southern Quarter of the facility is approx. 600 ha, while the Main Facility “Żelazny Most” itself approx. 1500 ha. The bowl of the Southern Quarter will be used to deposit waste from the flotation of copper ore from the Ore Enrichment Plants of KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. Parallel to the expansion of the reservoir, the superstructure of the Main Facility, i.e. the current reservoir, was carried out.
The value of the main contract amounted to PLN 588 million.
Żelazny Most is a unique hydrotechnical facility because during its operation, the embankments are built up with material deposited in the canopy, as the amount of stored waste increases. It is expected that by 2035, after reaching the maximum elevation of the dams, the volume of the Southern Quarter will be about 170 million m³.
“Żelazny Most” is the largest facility of this type in Europe. The construction of the existing reservoir began in 1974. Three years later, its operation and simultaneous expansion began.
Budimex, as a leader in the construction industry, has many hydrotechnical projects to its credit. He is the contractor of m.in. of the Racibórz Dolny flood control reservoir, and is currently carrying out works on the reconstruction of the groyne system and regulatory structures on sections of the Oder River in the area of Osinowo Dolny, Gozdowice – Stara Rudnica, Kostrzyn nad Odrą, Górzyca and at the level of Słubice. The company is also implementing the second stage of the construction of the waterway connecting the Vistula Lagoon with the Gulf of Gdańsk.
Jacek Sasin – Minister of State Assets: KGHM is implementing investments worth PLN 10 billion. Żelazny Most is one of KGHM’s main investments. We are glad that such an installation has been created. I would like to thank all the people involved for this investment, especially the employees of KGHM.
Mariusz Chludziński – President of the Management Board of KGHM Polska Miedź: The construction took about 3 years. It was an express pace and completed before the contract deadline It is the largest investment of this type in Europe. I would like to thank Budimex for their cooperation, for good and constructive cooperation. I am glad that this investment was carried out by Polish companies.
Dariusz Blocher – Member of the Supervisory Board of Budimex – The success of this project was due to the people, on the side of the investor, offices and our employees. It was a very well-prepared investment and efficiently implemented by us. We had the means and resources to be able to process one hundred thousand tons of soil on this construction site in one day. Under standard construction work conditions, such a scope of ground work takes about a month.
