MINING CHEMICALS
Orica’s LeachIT™ – a process simulation
software consultation with a customer
DigitaI chemistry
From the first digital platform for reagent optimisation to
investment in rail transport for sulphuric acid logistics,
Paul Moore reviews trends in the mining chemicals
industry
igitalisation is coming to all aspects of the
mining industry and mining chemicals are
no exception. Solvay recently announced
the successful launch of SolvExtract™, a first-
of-its-kind app-based digital platform for mining
operations, with Chile’s Codelco, the world’s
largest copper producer. Solvay says
SolvExtract™ connects chemistry and
operational insight, “bringing Solvay’s technical
expertise in mining chemistry to customers at
an unprecedented speed and frequency. It
enables them to make more informed decisions
faster, thus reducing process variability,
boosting productivity and improving their
bottom line.”
SolvExtract™ is just the first of Solvay’s new
digital solutions for mining operations, it says,
and the only digital platform today dedicated to
reagent optimisation. The platform enables data
flows between a mining operation and Solvay’s
D
proprietary MINCHEM ® solvent extraction (SX)
modelling software. Using this software, Solvay
personnel are able to monitor key variables of
the SX plant, such as copper recovery and
copper transfer, comparing actual values and
trends to model predictions, to identify and
analyse deviations. Leveraging a dashboard,
custom alerts and expert analysis, Solvay
quickly notifies plant operators when issues
arise and offers recommendations through the
platform. Via SolvExtract™, plant personnel can
engage in dialogue with Solvay to support
continuous improvement and enhance the
quality of future suggestions.
“SolvExtract™ has helped the Gabriela
Mistral plant validate operational performance
and will support us in identifying opportunities
for continuous improvement,” shared Rodrigo
Benavides Oswald, Codelco Innovation Director.
“Through SolvExtract™, Solvay has proven to
be a partner to the plant by providing deeper,
more frequent insight, which has positively
influenced our daily decision making.”
“As available ore grades decline, mines are
looking for ways to maximise the amount of
copper extracted from each ton of ore,”
explained Chuck Price, Executive Vice President
of Solvay’s Mining Solutions business.
“SolvExtract™ utilises a new generation of
data-gathering and analytics capabilities –
along with Solvay’s reagents, applications
expertise and customer feedback – to help SX
plants reach their true potential.”
In detail, the SolvExtract™ tool receives data
routinely measured from the SX plant including
flow rates, organic extractant concentrations,
PLS and electrolyte compositions. Data inputs
are customer specific and are able to
accommodate the range of Cu SX circuits found
in industry (parallel streams, bleeds, blends,
etc). The SolvExtract™ tool first performs
calculations to confirm the validity of the data to
make sure it is suitable for analysis. The
theoretical plant performance is then simulated
using MINCHEM ® . When performance is below
the plant’s operating targets, the actual
performance is compared to the MINCHEM
model to identify the source of the problem –
either process conditions are such that
metallurgically it is not realistic to meet the
recovery target; or something is interfering with
the plant’s ability to meet the recovery that is
possible under the given process conditions.
If current process conditions are insufficient
to achieve the plant targets, multiple variables
are analysed to determine what specific
recommendations could be made to return the
plant to the target. Practical constraints of the
specific customer’s plant design are considered.
Some potential recommendations to correct low
Cu recovery or low Cu transfer may include but
are not limited to:
n Increasing the organic flow rate
n Increasing the lean electrolyte flow rate
Solvay’s SolvExtract™ is a
first-of-its-kind app-based
digital platform for mining
operations. It monitors key
variables of the copper SX
plant, such as copper recovery
and copper transfer, comparing
actual values and trends to
model predictions, to identify
and analyse deviations
42 International Mining | MAY 2019