Mining & Ore Handling

The performance of the crushing circuit in mining crusher optimization is critical for mill and flotation efficiency. Due to variability in ore size, ore hardness and feed rates, this circuit frequently experiences downtime due to blockages in the crusher, conveyor belt damage and mechanical wear of screens. Additionally, inefficient crushing impacts conveyor belt loading, which rapidly leads to blocked screens and increases the volume of ore that is recirculated in the circuit.

Emerson’s PACSystems integrated edge technology hardware and software solutions combine edge control and edge computing with machine learning to adjust the crusher gap and monitor the conveyor belt loading and screen efficiency. This optimizes the crushing circuit performance and increase flotation efficiency.

While mines are increasingly shifting to renewable power sources in a bid to increase mining sustainability and reduce energy consumption, many sites still utilize diesel-solar hybrid configurations.

Mining power plants typically run with a large spinning reserve, but there is often little visibility into active plant operations and site-wide energy consumption. This impacts production uptime, specifically when energy intensive equipment comes online. When there is a lack of coordination for equipment going from standby to duty mode, sites are likely to experience brown outs due to power surges, reducing efficiency and increasing costs.

Data from the instrumentation and sensors on diesel generators can be sent to Emerson’s PACSystems edge control and edge computing solutions via wireless connection. The edge controller can also analyze other energy consumption data from the processing plant to identify when more power will be needed. Armed with this information and connectivity, the edge controller makes step changes to the power plant through its real-time operating system. This edge control combined with PACEdge software machine learning capabilities can efficiently start diesel generators when energy from renewable sources is inadequate to meet the site power requirements. The result is significantly reduced emissions and fuel consumption in mining applications.

From pit to process, you rely on various fixed mining assets for the transportation, initial sizing and aggregation of your ore prior to passing it through your minerals processing operation. These assets are highly-susceptible to mechanical breakdown over time given the wear and tear they endure.   

Emerson experts can work with you to outfit your fixed mining assets with a condition monitoring solution so your maintenance teams can take corrective action as needed.

Effective pit dewatering is crucial to safer, more sustainable surface mining operations. One of the most popular strategies employed by miners is to utilize sump pumps to control water levels. Unfortunately, pumps are susceptible to mechanical failure without proper maintenance and they can be expensive to operate if manually controlled by pit staff. 

Emerson has extensive experience working with the control performance and health monitoring of your critical pumps. Our experts can guide you in selecting the best solution to help achieve more efficient and reliable pump operation.