MINE MAINTENANCE
New age maintenance
Machine and plant uptime continue to be focus areas for mining companies looking at maintaining or boosting production levels in the face of labour shortages and site-level access restrictions . Dan Gleeson hears from key players in the METS sector on how they are overcoming these hurdles to help achieve industry goals
Remote mines could be considered even more ‘ remote ’ in the face of COVID-19 , as travel restrictions stop OEMs , service providers and even overseas staff stepping on site .
Yet , in the face of these constraints , the industry has evolved , adopting remote condition monitoring and predictive maintenance solutions at acclerated rates . This has brought service technicians ‘ closer ’ to the action than they previously thought possible .
The age of off-site maintenance diagnoses is well and truly here and there is no end in sight with the industry continuing to wrestle with COVID and an ongoing skills shortage .
The maintenance Metrics
It has been just over three years since Metso Metrics – as it was referred to then – was launched . Upon its debut , the cloud-based predictive maintenance solution for mining equipment was geared towards helping maximise the uptime and performance of comminution circuits , with the initial target area being Metso primary gyratory crushers , cone crushers and vibrating screens .
In the circa-38 months since the launch , Metso has become Metso Outotec ( after the merger with Outotec ), Metso Metrics has become ‘ Metso Outotec Metrics ’, and the former Asset Analytics platform developed by Outotec has been incorporated into the solution .
Even with these changes , the aim of Metrics has remained : to improve visibility and provide new insights into customers ’ equipment and processes with analytics , condition monitoring and predictive maintenance – all backed by expert support .
Mikko Koivunen , Sales Director , Metrics Solutions , said the addition of Outotec ’ s own Asset Analytics condition monitoring solution for filtration ( PF Filters ) and online analysers ( Couriers ) has broadened the company ’ s offering , better reflecting the full flowsheet focus of Metso Outotec .
“ We have a much wider offering because we can include both company ’ s efforts ,” he told IM . “ This has allowed us to cover much of the flowsheet , with the goal to eventually monitor the whole processing plant .”
The company now has equipment ‘ connected ’ to the Metrics solution in all key mining regions , in North , Central and South America ; Europe ; China ; Australia ; and Africa .
With complications around travel and skilled labour shortages in many key mining regions , the rationale for outsourcing equipment troubleshooting to experts such as Metso Outotec and a solution like Metrics makes sense .
“ This is causing some mines to ask : do we really need to have all the expertise on site because of the challenges of finding people ,” Koivunen said . “ Also , it is not just about people . You need the right tools and spare parts at the right time to repair items should they fail . This is where we can really help with the expert
In March 2021 , Weir Minerals introduced its first regional Synertrex Monitoring Centre in Johannesburg , South Africa
knowledge built into Metrics and key experts at our Performance Centers .”
These Metso Outotec Performance Centers – in Espoo , Finland ; Changsha , China ; and Santiago , Chile – provide a way of funnelling the company ’ s expertise and data-driven analytics down to customers on a global basis .
While improving process stability , asset reliability , process efficiency and sustaining the improvement are the key aims of these centres , this type of remote service support could free up on-site maintenance personnel to focus on proactive elements that optimise the processing plant over the long term .
In that respect , the Performance Centers epitomise the philosophy behind Metrics .
“ There has always been a been a big focus area to be able to predict issues before they turn into failures with data ,” Koivunen said . “ We are in that space ; we have algorithms and artificial intelligence and are developing it to provide predictive capabilities . At the same time , we can carry out some of this from the Performance Centers in Chile , Finland and China , where we have data and equipment experts analysing the data .
“ It is a combination of both the cloud-based analysis solution and Metso Outotec experts .”
The installation of Metrics at Boliden ’ s Kevitsa
36 International Mining | JANUARY 2022