Modern Mining May 2021

System monitoring allows better preventive main- tenance, which reduces operating costs drastically, especially by avoiding unplanned breakdowns that lead to losses in production and mineral recovery. Future developments “The future is undoubtedly going to see more green initiatives and progress in digital and other tech- nologies,” says Weir Minerals Africa’s Hendricks. “We foresee that bulk ore sorting has the potential to reduce the amount of waste in the material sent for milling during the beneficiation process.” He says this approach could reduce the size of crushing and milling plants in the future, as lower volumes of ore coming from the mine will be milled. “There is also likely to be an increased accep- tance of HPGR in hard rock applications, as iron goes finer. As mining initiatives aim to become more sustainable in the context of growing water scarcity, dry-finish grinding is going to become the norm, with HPGRs offered with air classifiers and leading to the gradual decline of ball milling.” Osborn foresees further development in the digital space, as well as greater focus on dry com- minution through technologies such as HPGRs and verticals roller mills (VRMs). “This is part of a broader focus on reducing mine water usage, and ultimately on reducing min- ing’s impact on the environment. This is in line with FLSmidth’s MissionZero goal for 2030, where we leverage digital and innovative solutions to support customers in managing zero emissions in their min- ing processes by 2030, with specific focus on water management.” Pilot Crushtec has seen an increase in clients requesting remote monitoring services on their mobile comminution equipment. “Thankfully,” says Marais, “all of Metso’s mobile equipment is already equipped with these remote monitoring services, through Metso Metrics.” He says this ability to monitor equipment metrics remotely is not new. “However, we have yet to see its true poten- tial being used and this is certainly an area for

improvement for ourselves as an OEM, and for dis- tributors and operators looking to maximise their efficiencies and production.” Kukard say that, with Spective control systems installed in new Kleemann crushing plants, opera- tional and performance figures as well as safety features will be fully mobile in the not-too-distant future as the system is already prepared for mobile devices. “This brings the operator full access to the unit directly from a mobile device, and will continue to build on the accessibility and safety functions, which have become indispensable.” 

The drive concept on the Kleemann MC 120 Z Pro mobile jaw crusher from Wirtgen.

Key takeaways  There are strong advances in digital solutions in comminution technologies  Key trends in the industry include low-energy dry comminution and smart analytics platforms for online condition monitoring  The biggest trend for mobile machinery is related to hybrid power and a departure from exclusively diesel-powered mobile crushers and screens  Low-energy dry comminution through HPGRs increases availability to over 90%  The need for simple and intuitive control increases as the complexity of plants increases

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May 2021  MODERN MINING  25