MINE MAINTENANCE
of a potential problem ahead of time as well as recommended actions to take .
The multiple data inputs being used , and the predicted outcomes , are moving into the digital twin territory many mining OEMs have talked about of late .
“ A specific example of a predictive function would be to understand what the impact of a change in ore will have on component wear and subsequently the maintenance schedule , and how Weir Minerals , as an OEM and service provider , can ensure the right part is available at the right time ,” Knudsen explained .
This is indicative of the company ’ s “ intelligence approach ” to the Synertrex technology , which reflects the confidence it has in its algorithms – populated through the knowledge transfer of Weir Minerals experts alongside historical mine site data – and its aims to cover the entire process flowsheet with advanced digital solutions .
“ A lot of our present focus using the new platform partnerships are around introducing soft sensor techniques where the physical sensor is replaced by Industry 4.0 technologies such as neural networks and machine learning ,” Knudsen said .
This could see , for instance , the company measure impeller wear on a pump – a process that was either extremely costly or unreliable with existing ‘ hard ’ sensor technologies .
Warman pumps and Cavex hydrocyclones are the first products on the Synertrex technology roadmap – named ‘ IntelliPump ’ and ‘ IntelliHydrocyclone ’, respectively . Several of these ‘ intelligent applications ’ are already operating at mining operations in South Africa and South America as part of an extensive testing program prior to release , according to Knudsen .
This will complement an existing solution – Synertrex IntelliWear™ – for spools and hoses in slurry pipelines , which comprises an intelligent digital sensor integrated into Weir Minerals ’ Linatex ® and Vulco ® hoses and spools that is connected to the Synertrex intelligence platform .
From this beginning , the company expects the intelligent equipment to talk to each other and – over the long term – create the opportunity to optimise entire circuits .
“ This will be an outcome of the individual equipment digital twins talking together ,” Knudsen said . “ Right now , the focus is on getting all the equipment to a point where we can create digital twins of them and then we have cases where they can talk to each other .
“ For example , if you have a cyclone requesting more pump feed but the pump is already compromised in terms of health , then the pump would raise a flag and warn of an impending failure if pushed harder .
“ These are the types of integrations that will provide value for our customers .”
The IIoT backbone of Synertrex technology is the AVEVA PI System™ , which can collect , contextualise and analyse data streams while offering a safe and secure data exchange for clients . Furthermore , Weir Minerals has partnered with XMPRO , a platform to build digital twins enabling event intelligence and predictive recommendations .
“ AVEVA PI is as close as you get to any industry standard out there in terms of collecting and organising data and makes customer system integration as easy as it can be ,” Knudsen said . “ XMPRO adds a toolbox to our eco-system allowing us to build digital twins with scale and speed .”
The ability to improve the sustainability of a company ’ s operations using Synertrex technology will also be reflected in the latest launch , with future platform features including the benchmarking of the current equipment and processes ; and a dashboard that outlines sustainability key performance indicators like carbon dioxide emissions , water losses , water balances , tailings volumes , etc .
“ The medium-term goal is to identify hot spots and quick wins for customers based on the above and offer solutions tailored to these areas ,” Knudsen added .
Longer term , the development of ‘ system ’ digital twins for key processes such as the mill circuit , water balance and tailings could offer improved process control and efficiency – “ widely recognised as having the potential to reduce footprint by as much as 30 %”, Knudsen said .
The circularity Synertrex technology could offer will be further leveraged in both equipment design and supply chain optimisation .
“ The new Synertrex intelligence platform allows for data orchestration and value creation from multiple sources , including sensors , the miners ’ digital ecosystems and data only available to Weir Minerals as an OEM – like maintenance data , 3D engineering models and product lifecycle management ( PLM ) tools used for our equipment ,” Knudsen said .
“ Based on this amount of comprehensive data , we are building composable digital twins which we will use for the further value chain optimisation . Equipment design improvement is one of those , as is the enablement of supply chain optimisation .”
Data-driven maintenance support
For Metso Outotec , data-driven services are the
backbone of improving uptime at mining and metals operations across the globe .
“ We don ’ t want to replace existing on-site offerings – you still need to go to site obviously – but making these visits data-driven through remote connectivity and local , regional and global collaboration is key to enhancing our existing core offerings and improving the outcomes for our customers ,” Mikko Koivunen , Director , Process Optimization & Remote Services Sales Support for Integrated Service Solutions , told IM .
In many instances this can see an on-site maintenance specialist – one of a 3,000-strong contingent within Metso Outotec – turn up to a mine site equipped with equipment data feeds from Metrics and analysis from global Metso Outotec experts . This helps diagnose and potentially rectify the problem in the quickest possible timeframe , according to Metso Outotec .
“ The on-site team gets much more insight from the data and the assistance of the global Performance Centers and global team of domain experts ,” Koivunen said . “ Feeding this data to them and the customer is key in terms of leveraging the digital side of our offering .”
This digital offering is best epitomised by Metso Outotec Metrics monitoring services , a cloud-based remote condition monitoring platform that connects to customers ’ data in real time and sends it to the cloud platform . Providing online monitoring capabilities , it offers improved safety , increased uptime and throughput and reduced unplanned maintenance , according to the company .
On the platform , the data is accessible to customers and Metso Outotec Performance Center remote support engineers through dashboards . The remote support engineers also have access to other advanced data analysis tools to support customers in preventing failures and optimising operations .
Metso Outotec Metrics , as it is now known , has been in existence since 2018 and , up until recently , was available for cone crushers , pressure filters , Courier analysers , primary gyratory crushers and grinding mills .
In November , the company expanded the platform to cover the tools , sensors and dashboard access for monitoring customers ’ screening equipment . This will see operators , controllers and service professionals receive realtime analysis of vibrating screen performance and bearing condition , the company says .
Metso Outotec announced in June a global cooperation agreement with Dynamox , which offers an innovative condition monitoring platform . Metrics for screens is the first solution utilising Dynamox ’ s instrumentation to complement the comprehensive value-added services and remote monitoring capabilities in the customer ’ s value chain , Metso Outotec says .
While a previous iteration of Metrics was developed and trialled at a few mining operations to monitor stationary screening applications , Koivunen said the latest version
18 International Mining | JANUARY 2023