Modern Mining October 2020

SUPPLY CHAIN News

Digitalising minerals processing for more control

detect wear and roping, a condition that reduces separation efficiency. By sending an alert when certain operating parameters are breached, the system ensures optimal efficiency is maintained, even as slurry con- ditions in the circuit vary.” He highlights that the company’s machine-level solutions are offered as part of plant and process packages. At both plant and process level, there is also FLSmidth’s advanced ECS/ProcessExpert solutions, which facilitate not just monitoring and control, but advanced optimisation enabled by state-of-the-art AI technologies. “It is important to remember that control systems need to be flexible, so that they adapt to customers’ needs and to their existing systems,” he says. “With FLSmidth’s depth of expertise in software engineering and machine control, we can ensure that our machine-level systems connect with all market leading control systems – to seam- lessly deliver the data that mines need for effective decision-making.” The company’s R&D pushes the bound- aries of performance in a range of mineral processing fields. These include advanc- ing its lamella plate technology in mineral separation applications, adapting its ver- tical roller mill for dry grinding in mining, and extending wear life of pumps with new polymers.  channels optimised for direct on-line mea- surement of gold and other elements from calcium to uranium. This makes it particu- larly suitable for applications where gold is recovered with other metals such as silver or copper. The system can measure up to 24 indi- vidual process streams – each with an individually adjustable measurement time – to ensure optimal measurement accuracy and sampling frequency in even the most complex polymetallic flotation circuits. The new next-generation on-stream analyser combines Wavelength Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (WDXRF) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) technologies with a high-power X-ray tube for unparalleled measurement per- formance. It also features an automatic internal reference measurement for guaranteed stability under changing envi- ronmental conditions. 

“The power of digital technology is certainly a key element of these efforts,” says Osborn. “Together with our Blue Box digital concept, based on our ECS/ControlCenter, which is a cybersecure inter- face between our equipment and cloud data storage, we use our SiteConnect mobile app to monitor the performance of equipment and process plants in real time. The ECS/ ControlCenter V8 process con- trol platform sits at the heart of our digital vision, a key compo- nent in our growing portfolio of digital solutions and services

With its decades of product development, FLSmidth is well placed to offer customer remote monitoring, control and process optimisation.

that we call ENABLR.” An example of this applied capability is an FLSmidth REFLUX Classifier modular plant operating on a South African mine. Using SiteConnect, operations managers can have real-time access to over a hun- dred operational parameters on the plant. Data analytics linked to the cloud data can also generate time-based trends for instant viewing on the app. “We have also developed SmartCyclone technology for our hydrocyclones,” Osborn notes. “This innovation uses sensors to gold, platinum and other valuable metal concentrations from ore feed, con- centrate and tailings streams. The new analyser enables accurate real-time elemental anal- ysis measurement, which is critical for establishing efficient process control to improve process stability and maximise recovery. “Agnico Eagle Kittilä has used the new on-stream analyser for flotation control and optimisation since October 2019. Measurement informa- tion provided by the Courier 6G SL has enabled more efficient control

Mining’s accelerated move toward digital solutions since the outbreak the COVID-19 pandemic is being supported by FLSmidth’s decades of research and development. The company has over 80 projects underway to improve its mining-related offerings. Terence Osborn, FLSmidth’s director of product and account management for sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, highlights that R&D is the lifeblood of the company’s new technologies. So much so, that it has some 80 projects underway to improve its mining-related offerings.

Metso Outotec introduces Courier 6G SL on-stream analyser

Metso Outotec is launching its next-gener- ation Courier 6G SL on-stream analyser for direct measurement of

of the pre-flotation circuit and helped to reduce gold losses,” says Lauri Veki, metallurgist, Agnico Eagle Kittilä. The Courier 6G SL on-stream

analyser builds on the Outotec Courier 6X SL analyser with a more powerful X-ray tube and measurement

The system can measure up to 24 individual process streams.

36  MODERN MINING  October 2020