Electricity and Control February 2023

INDUSTRY 4.0 + IIOT : PRODUCTS + SERVICES

Mines are recognising the value of digital systems

Weir Minerals Africa has noted a growing demand in the mining industry for digital integration – that is, for the technologies and systems that provide mines with data to develop strategic improvements in their operations. This is based on its ongoing interactions with mining customers. “Customers recognise the need for real-time man agement of important operational parameters at their operations. Mines are moving away from broad assump tions made by people, to using data points to track key indicators that can make equipment more reliable,” says Tiisetso Masekwameng, General Manager - Comminu tion at Weir Minerals Africa. The company’s Synertrex ® intelligent platform re sponds to this growing need for digital solutions. It pro vides mines with insights into the actual costs of running their plants, data to develop strategic improvements to mining operations and the opportunity to benchmark performance across every area of operations. “Synertrex is a complete digital ecosystem that con tinually monitors the performance of equipment and in tegrates with the customer’s distributed control system. This means advanced analytics are conveyed through a digital interface to give customers all the indicators meas ured, delivered to their devices accurately and in real time, even if they aren’t at the mine,” says Masekwameng. She explains that as part of the Synertrex ® condition monitoring system, sensors are applied to processing equipment and the data they provide is captured and By leveraging developments in the IoT space, Proximity Detection System (PDS) technology is moving beyond its primary role of preventing accidents and expanding its functionalities for the mining industry. According to Anton Lourens, CEO of Booyco Electronics, PDS technology is proving to be of great value to the industry. Over the years, PDS technology has ushered in a new era in mine safety management. Given the pace of de velopment in the past two years, Lourens says PDS is advancing its value proposition beyond the avoidance of accidents on mine sites. “To provide context, the PDS technology is increas ingly part of the development of ‘digital twin’ simulations, where mines are analysing big data to understand their operations better. This has been a big developmental step over the past few years. Owing to the large amount of available operational information, it is now possible to see how machines interact and operate, allowing for proper traffic flow analysis and implementation of suita ble traffic management plans,” says Lourens. The PDS, he adds, has proven to be a relevant and important tool in the industry’s quest for Zero Harm. Over and above its primary functions, the technology can now Expanding the value of PDS via IoT

continuously analysed. With detailed real-time insight into how their equipment is performing, customers can eliminate guesswork from their operational decisions. Information is displayed on a simple, easy to un

derstand dashboard, which can be accessed via any device or integrated into existing operational systems. It conveys real-time fact-based insights into machine per formance and health, remaining useful life and other key operational indicators. “As mining companies redefine their investment strate gies, the Synertrex intelligent platform can help customers transform their operations,” says Masekwameng. “This is because it also assesses the performance of machinery and indicates potential improvements, such as optimising the equipment’s energy efficiency or throughput. “The Synertrex intelligent platform also serves remote management of maintenance – from monitoring wear and tear, to scheduled servicing and repairs – to keep mining equipment at its most productive. Thus, it sup ports maximum equipment uptime and profitable opera tions for mining companies,” says Masekwameng.

The Synertrex monitoring room at Weir Minerals where data is analysed in real time.

For more information contact Weir Minerals Africa. Visit: www.minerals.weir

be used as an evaluation tool, to identify incident hot spots, review heatmaps, analyse traffic flow and in form traffic management plans. Looking ahead, Lourens believes that PDS technolo gy will continue to develop, particularly leveraging ad

vances in areas such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and other technologies. In his view, no single technology will offer a total solution; integration of multiple technologies such as GPS (global positioning system), RF (radio fre quency), cameras and radar, among others, will be key to providing the industry with the best possible tool to realise Zero Harm. “By adding different technologies, the value proposi tion to the customer is expanding. The PDS is therefore transforming from being a legislated and often a ‘grudge’ purchase to a prized tool that offers significant value to the industry,” Lourens says.

With additional, different technologies, the value of PDS to the customer is expanding.

For more information contact Booyco Electronics. Visit: www.booyco-electronics.com

FEBRUARY 2023 Electricity + Control

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