MINE MAINTENANCE
Cost per tonne contracts have been established with certain customers where long-term collaboration has been in place for some time , according to Metso Outotec ’ s Annami Toukoniitty
high-level technical expertise in the local language when long distance travel has been more challenging .
COVID-19 may have cemented this remote support capability change , but Toukoniitty believes the switch to a more predictive and preventative approach to mine maintenance remains in a state of flux .
Some customers have already taken the leap , while others continue to retain their reactive troubleshooting practices .
The move into preventative and predictive mode could lead to not only reduced downtime , but optimisation of the process , which requires long-term partnerships where both the OEM and mining company are committed to continuous improvements in their plants , Toukoniitty says .
Metso Outotec has been successful fostering such collaboration with Tier One miners and juniors , alike , with its Life Cycle Services ( LCS ) approach – which bundles its entire after-market portfolio into customisable , manageable packages – attracting around 170 contracts in the mining space .
“ The customer key performance indicators that we target to improve in the contracts are quite similar across the customer base , but customers have different strategies to get there ,” Toukoniitty said of these LCS customers .
“ Most Tier One customers are more total cost of ownership ( TCO ) focused than others as they have the knowledge , the history and the competence . Ways to get to the lowest TCO differs very much , and here we need production and process understanding , combined with a strong technology understanding .
“ Also , sometimes the target is overall business performance , which might even override the traditional TCO thinking .”
Some of these contracts leverage close to the full extent of Metso Outotec ’ s digital portfolio , which can be integrated into a customer ’ s own inventory management procedures .
“ Typically , these inventory management cases are more the reality today from the wear parts and consumables side of things but , also , we do see it growing more and more in the major components side ,” Toukoniitty said . “ There is already existing capability within the company to support that via our Connected Analytics solution in certain equipment .
“ We still have some hurdles to tackle on this front , but digitalisation to support maintenance operations is one of the top priorities in our strategy .”
Another type of contract that has already received buy-in from Metso Outotec customers is cost per tonne service agreements . These have been established with certain customers where long-term collaboration has been in place for some time , according to Toukoniitty .
“ Customers are more and more focused on getting the most out of their existing operations ,” she said . “ They do struggle with the ore grades becoming lower and lower and , therefore , production processes becoming more and more complex and having more variability .”
This type of environment brings a need for longterm collaboration with an OEM that will share risk by entering a contract where they are paid based on the amount of output from certain pieces of equipment , Toukoniitty said .
“ This approach also helps us align our goals with the customers – we both want to achieve higher productivity and business performance ,” she said . “ Not forgetting the crucially important sustainability aspect , which can be impacted substantially with a preventative approach to maintenance .”
Integrated intelligence
FLSmidth has also picked up on the emerging need for digital tools to help improve equipment performance within the plant .
It recently acquired Salt Lake City-based KnowledgeScape , a leader in digital optimisation solutions for the mineral processing industry , to enhance its own digital ENABLR™ portfolio , which connects , monitors and optimises the performance of customer ’ s equipment .
KnowledgeScape specialises in using Advanced Process Control systems to improve the performance and efficiency of mine concentrators with a full range of smart sensors and highly intelligent automation software . In practice , the KnowledgeScape portfolio has documented capabilities in increasing the total output of a processing plant by 4-10 % at the same time as reducing power , water and reagent consumption , according to FLSmidth .
FLSmidth CDO , Mikko Tepponen , and former KnowledgeScape CEO and now FLSmidth Global Product Line Manager KnowledgeScape portfolio , Dustin Collins , recently answered some questions on the enlarged digital offering .
“ FLSmidth currently provides state-of-the-art software and a high-end platform – our ECS / ProcessExpert ® solution – and this will be seamlessly enhanced with the expertise , advanced algorithms and smart vision solutions that KnowledgeScape offers ,” the pair said .
The focus at KnowledgeScape has been to offer unique products that increase throughput , boost recoveries and improve efficiency through the concentrator from primary crusher all the way to filtration , according to Collins .
“ We have built our reputation in optimising control of SAG mills and flotation , using our expert control software , together with exclusive sensors we developed specifically for the task : LoadIQ and PlantVision ,” he said .
“ The addition of KnowledgeScape ’ s advanced solutions to FLSmidth ’ s already robust digital ENABLR portfolio will deliver an expanded and exciting range of benefits to customers , from increased automation to improved reliability and enhanced productivity .”
The pair added : “ The ultimate measure of productivity in mining is tonnes produced . Another measure of productivity for customers is how fast solutions can be implemented . We bring the two together , delivering a system that literally increases tonnage in a concentrator in the shortest possible time frame by making our software powerful and intuitive , yet simple .”
With the KnowledgeScape portfolio providing digital solutions for the entire mining process , efficiencies associated with the need to employ and master more than one system are eliminated , according to Tepponen and Collins .
“ Additionally , multiple sites can be integrated with a hybrid on-site / cloud solution to give larger operators real-time insight into all sites without taking away performance or control from the on-the-ground team at the plant itself ,” they said .
Taking the high-level digital edge solutions KnowledgeScape has developed and integrating these with the FLSmidth ENABLR platform can allow for an additional level of features and services , such as advanced data analytics , supporting even further optimisation and process data insights , according to Tepponen and Collins .
The Autonomous Agents
Aspen Technology has recently expanded its Aspen Mtell ® asset performance management ( APM ) technology remit into the consulting space , signing a partnership with Wood that would see all of Wood ’ s customers gain access to its predictive and prescriptive maintenance solution .
The partnership will enable global enterprises to improve the performance of their manufacturing and facility assets through a maintenance solution built upon industrial artificial intelligence ( AI ) and machine learning , Aspen said .
Aspen Mtell , the company says , analyses historical and real-time operational and maintenance data to
50 International Mining | JANUARY 2021