The minerals plant of the futureâ€“leveraging automation and using

Introduction

The technology used in mining processes haschanged little over the past twenty years.However, rising cost and fierce competitionhave stimulated global consolidation and theincessant search for new opportunities inoperating the mine of the future, increasingeffectiveness, and reducing operational cost.Fluctuating markets, cost control, and low-

grade complex mineral deposits have driventhe need for delivering increased productivity,reliability, and utilization.

Automation was necessary to maintaincontinuous safe production in mining plantsduring the 1970s and 1980s. This approachchanged during the 1990s, when automationwas also seen as a way to increase efficiencyand improve quality. Advanced process controlalso provided a good opportunity to improveprocess performance, but mixed results andthe poor availability/reliability of some ofthese early solutions negatively affected thegeneral acceptance of advanced process controlsystems as a way to optimize operations.

During the 1990s, most automationdevelopments were carried out at the plantlevel. Concepts such as remote monitoring,asset management, remote optimization,remote engineering, and collaborativeenvironments began to appear, but theirapplication was limited, with mixed results.The technology of the time did not succeed ingetting the most from these solutions andconcepts. However, automation becameessential for mining operations seekingeffective plant control, and companies realizedthe potential opportunities offered byautomation technologies, especially formultinational and global companies lookingfor consolidation, standardization, and theutilization of shared resources across theirorganization.

Over the past decade there have beensignificant developments in plant automationand information systems. Automationtechnologies, solutions, and concepts thatexisted but were considered risky or unreliableprior to the year 2000 gained acceptance andmatured. In this decade, the Internet hasplayed a major role in supporting innovativesolutions for the mining industry. Information

The minerals plant of the future–leveragingautomation and using intelligent collaborativeenvironmentby D.G. Almond*, K. Becerra*, and D. Campain*

SynopsisLow-grade, complex mineral deposits have resulted in the need forcomplicated large-throughput processing plants delivering increasedproductivity, reliability, and utilization, together with reducingoperational costs. Complex mineralogy has resulted in complicatedprocess flow sheets designed to recover minerals as efficiently aspossible. In addition, the remote location of many minerals-processing plants, continuously rising energy costs, and fiercecompetition pose significant challenges to the modern mine,compounded by a global scarcity of qualified and experiencedoperational personnel.

Over the last decade the Internet and automation technologieshave undergone major advancements. Automation technologies,solutions, and concepts that existed, but were considered risky orunreliable prior to the year 2000, have now gained acceptance andmatured. Furthermore, new technologies and different collaborationschemes have appeared, offering innovative solutions to the miningindustry to address many of the challenges described. Theseadvancements in reliable remote systems that access technologythrough the Internet provide significant opportunity to supportmining operations, enhance process performance, provideengineering services, and proactively anticipate and executemaintenance services.

This paper references a global survey of automation trends in themining industry and the potential for an intelligent collaborativeenvironment using automation technologies to exploit opportunitiesin operating the plant of the future, increasing effectiveness, andreducing operational costs. A variety of possibilities are described,including asset management solutions, remote access capabilities,performance monitoring solutions, advanced process controltechnologies, and the formation of an intelligent collaborativeenvironment. A real example where this technology is used tosupport the operation and maintenance at a cement plant in Egypt isgiven to underpin the concepts described in this paper.

Keywordsplant automation, process control, remote access, intelligent collabo-rative environment.

* FLSmidth Inc.© The Southern African Institute of Mining and

Metallurgy, 2013. ISSN 2225-6253. This paperwas first presented at the 5th InternationalPlatinum Conference 2012, 18–20 September2012, Sun City, South Africa.

273The Journal of The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy VOLUME 113 MARCH 2013 �

The minerals plant of the future–leveraging automation

can be available anywhere and at any time, leveraging scarceexpertise and remotely supporting and enhancing miningprocesses. Services and opportunities only envisioned duringthe 1990s are now reality. Figure 1 illustrates the evolutionof automation in a mining plant.

This paper reviews a global survey of automation trendsand describes various automation possibilities that have thepotential to address industry demand for increasedeffectiveness and reduced operational costs. Some of thetechnologies referred to are asset management solutions,remote access capabilities, performance monitoring solutions,advanced process-control technologies, and the formation ofan intelligent collaborative environment.

An asset management system (AMS) is neither a singleproduct nor a unique solution; it is a framework to measureperformance, plan, and to execute preventative and correctiveactions. Although vendors and companies may agree on thebasic definition and scope of an asset management system,there remain many interpretations for asset management.

Remote monitoring and performance monitoring solutionsprovide a great opportunity to measure and enhance miningoperations. Global companies can support operations lackinghighly skilled resources and located in remote areas by usingremote monitoring technologies. Performance monitoringsolutions can be used to automatically measure performanceof processes and solutions, identifying opportunity areas.

Advanced process control is now widely accepted as away to optimize mining operations. Existing advancedprocess-control technologies are consolidated to optimizemining processes, and the combination of process controltechniques has proven successful.

More recently, the formation of intelligent collaborativeenvironments combining local and remote resources andautomation systems are being considered for operating theplant of the future. Figure 2 illustrates available automationtechnologies for increasing the effectiveness and reducingcosts in a mining plant. Examples of existing applications andoperating systems are described in this paper, including theoperation and management of a cement plant in Egypt.

Best practices for automation in the mining industry

In 2011, FLSmidth, in collaboration with ARC AdvisoryGroup, conducted a confidential survey aimed at developing abetter understanding of the best practices in processautomation currently employed by the mining, minerals, andmetallurgical processing industry. One hundred and tenrespondents from around the world contributed to the survey,which examined the challenges encountered in miningoperations, strategies for automation, technologies employed,and the benefits they yield. Research included how peopleinform themselves on automation, their plans forimplementing automation in the future, and how they adapttheir strategies. The resulting report based its findings on theanswers of three defined groups of respondents, described asStrategists, Implementers, and Adopters.� Strategists—Strategists are well-informed; regard

automation as a strategic issue; have alreadyimplemented a high degree of automation and stressfunctionality, in-house serviceability, local support, andreliability; and have quantified benefits as the mainsolution selection criteria

� Implementers—Implementers are fairly well-informed,use a mix of strategic and tactical processes in theirapproach to process automation, have installed anaverage degree of automation with medium to largegaps, and regard functionality and reliability as themain solution selection criteria

� Adopters—Adopters have fair knowledge, varyingbetween areas, have installed a lower degree ofautomation with large gaps, have aggressive plans forextensions and new installations, and regardfunctionality and reliability as the main solutionselection parameters.

The survey identified seven major areas of interest:1. Operational challenges2. Knowledge of automation and strategy3. Current automation practices4. Benefits obtained5. Appreciation and future plans6. Approach, rationale, and criteria for investment7. Strategy adaptation.

Operational challenges

Overall, the trend is for factors that affect production value,such as throughput and yield, to be considered moreimportant than cost factors such as energy and personnelcosts. The top three challenges are throughput, automationavailability and reliability, and yield or recovery rate. Thesethree challenges are all related to total, sellable productionquantities – i.e. production value.

Energy cost, process safety, and plant availability aresecondary. Energy is a highly visible financial cost factor.Next is manpower availability, which affects productionquantity, supporting the focus on production value. Scarcityof skilled personnel is an issue, particularly in remote

�

274 MARCH 2013 VOLUME 113 The Journal of The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy

Figure 1—Evolution of automation in a mining plant

Figure 2—Automation technologies for operating the plant of the future

IntelligentCollaborativeEnvironment

regions, at a time when production needs to be maximized inorder to realize buoyant commodity prices. Figure 3illustrates the operational challenges when operating a mine.

Knowledge of automation and strategy

Strategic focus is highest among Strategists, with 40 per centconsidering it to be a strategic enterprise issue, while thisfactor is lowest among Adopters. Tactical, case-by-caseapplication of automation is strongest among Adopters, wholook to general application of automation with highly visibleapplications. Implementers focus more on only generalapplication.

Current automation practices

Generally, Strategists have more knowledge thanImplementers, with 80 per cent claiming expert knowledge.Strategists automate more than Implementers, with Adoptersautomating the least. Seventy per cent of Strategists makeclear choices and automate most domains well, with theexception of operator training simulation and materialaccounting domains, where automation is as yet rare.

Over 90 per cent of Strategists have well-automated PLC-based process control, historization and visualization, on-lineanalysis, and advanced instrumentation, while at least 70 percent have well-installed advanced process control, remote

plant monitoring, operation, support, diagnostics, andmaintenance.

Benefits obtained

The areas where respondents hope to gain the biggest benefitfrom automation are throughput, yield/recovery rate, energycost, plant availability, and automation reliability andavailability. These areas correspond closely with the mainoperational challenges. Strategists rate the benefits obtainedin almost all performance areas as either critical or veryimportant. These ratings are less common amongImplementers and in the minority in Adopters. Figure 4illustrates the findings for benefits obtained throughimplementing automation technologies.

Approach, rationale, and criteria for investment

More than 70 per cent of Adopters and 80 per cent ofStrategists feel comfortable assessing the possible gainsassociated with investments in automation and theireconomic impact, but feel they need additional information.There is a need for information about available solutions tobe continuously updated. This includes knowledge abouteconomic benefit assessments. Aligning workers andmotivating them are top areas where there is a lack ofinformation. Figure 5 illustrates the findings for approach,rationale, and criteria for investment in automation.


275The Journal of The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy VOLUME 113 MARCH 2013 �

Figure 3—Operational challenges


�


Figure 4—Benefits obtained by applying automation technologies

Figure 5—Approach, rationale, and criteria for investment in automation

Appreciation and benefits

Based on this industry research and survey, the conclusion isthat the minerals industry in general agrees that throughput,yield/recovery rates, reduction in energy costs, and plantavailability are the main benefits expected through leveragingplant automation. Safety through reduction in the numbers ofpeople in production areas, as well as reduction in wage costsand overcoming skills shortages, are also recognized benefitspossible through innovative use of automation technology.

Asset management

According to Campbell1, asset management excellence ismany things, done well. It is when a plant performs up to itsdesign standards and equipment operates smoothly whenneeded, with maintenance costs tracking on budget, and withreasonable capital investment.

Asset management excellence facilitates a high servicelevel and fast inventory turnover, and most of all; assetmanagement excellence is the balance of performance, risk,and cost to achieve an optimal solution.

Maintenance strategies have drastically changed over thedecades; from no maintenance, to preventive, planned, andcondition-based maintenance. This has changed the wayequipment is operated: from run-to-failure to prevention andthen to predictable breakdowns.

The challenge of maintenance excellence is to provokethought on strategic issues around maintenance and todevelop tactics that minimize breakdowns and maximize therewards of planned, preventive, and predictive work. Theasset management life-cycle model (Figure 6), alsointroduced by Campbell2, should be considered to ensure thateach organization understands the full impact of an assetpurchase or disposition and the role maintenance can play topromote the length and quality of the asset’s life.

Asset management is a systematic process formaintaining, upgrading, and operating physical assets. Thereis no single and unique definition of an asset managementsystem (AMS); each supplier has its own interpretation andscope, but in general all agree that an asset managementsystem is a framework for measuring the health andperformance of physical assets to identify potential problemsbefore they escalate, allowing the proper short-, medium- andlong-range planning.

Automation and technological advances provide theopportunity to develop and implement cost-effective assetmanagement solutions and strategies that increaseeffectiveness and reduce operational cost. In today’scompetitive environment, a properly implemented and appliedasset management system can:

� Maximize availability and utilization� Minimize the risk of breakdowns� Minimize operational and maintenance cost� Predict the failure of a critical part and facilitate

prevention� Increase the time between failures� Decrease the time for repair� Decrease the cost of ownership� Reduce the safety risk to employees and the public as

much as possible.

Nearly every asset in a processing plant can be classifiedinto two major classes: production and automation. Assetmanagement for production assets focuses on monitoringheavy machinery, electrical equipment, and motors. Assetmanagement for automation assets focuses on fieldmeasurement devices, the networks that connect thesedevices, and process analysers.

The conclusion is that a complete and well-implementedasset management system comprises at least the following:

� Preventive, predictive, and condition-basedmaintenance

� Automatic notifications (process, alarms, events, etc.)� Advanced diagnostics (instrumentation, devices,

actuators, etc.)� Downtime reporting and tracking� Performance monitoring (key performance indicators –

KPIs) and web visualization� Integration with computerized maintenance

management system (CMMS)� Asset/object information.

Performance monitoring

Rising costs and fierce competition represent a challenge anddemand a change in how the mining industry is operated. Toeffectively tackle these challenges, an efficient way tomeasure and close the gap between the management goalsand the performance of the process control must beestablished. A performance monitoring system is required tomeasure the process control performance and identify the gapwith the management objectives, thus enabling the decision-making process to close this gap.

As mentioned, information technologies have emergedfaster than any other technology during the past decade,providing tools to automate many tasks at the operationlevel. Plant information management systems allow theintegration of process data, business data, and people, whichare the foundation to measure plant performance and nolonger an option for operating the plant of the future.

A plant information management system automaticallygathers and archives data, converts this data intoinformation, and makes it available to personnel with theauthority to access it. Data is gathered from different sources


The Journal of The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy VOLUME 113 MARCH 2013 277 �

Figure 6—Total life-cycle asset management2


such as process, production, quality, business systems, andmanually-introduced data. Figure 7 illustrates typical plantinformation system architecture. In implementing an effectiveplant information management system, several componentsare required:

� Real-time information management system or datahistorian

� Tools to convert data into information� Reporting and analysis tools or applications� Web-based solution to monitor performance.

Real-time information management systems gather andhistorically record data from all the different sources, andinclude the interfaces to connect with other systems. Tools toconvert data into information are required to calculate theprocess performance by applying business rules. As a result,KPIs are generated, which are used to measure the processperformance.

Reporting and analysis tools are used by operators,metallurgical engineers, and managers to analyse real-timeand historical data to identify problems and their root cause.The web-based solution for monitoring performance allowsplant personnel to evaluate the plant performance indices andprepare strategic actions to close the gap with themanagement objectives. One such example of strategic actioncould be the implementation of an advanced process controlsystem to address process instability or product quality.

The performance monitoring system works together withthe asset management solution and provides the frameworkto measure the performance and health of the plant assets.This performance measurement must include individualmachines and process areas, but should also be extended tocover the process control performance including anyadvanced process control systems.

Remote monitoring

An unfortunate fact of life for many companies involved inminerals processing is that exploitable deposits areincreasingly located in remote locations that can have harsh

climates and security concerns. The global shortage ofexperienced staff, combined with the location of new plantsand high staff turnover, has created significant challenges inthe operation and maintenance of these remote facilities. Onepotential viable solution is to use technology to enable taskstraditionally performed at the plant location to be performedat any location that can have a network connection to theplant. In some cases, remote access systems are already beingused for remote monitoring and basic support for operations.

The complexity of information systems security is beyondthe scope of this paper and is addressed only superficially tohighlight the necessity. Any remote service strategy requiresconnections between the network of the plant control systemand other networks, which create the potential for securityrisks, including:

� Unauthorized ability to monitor and control equipmentand processes

� Unauthorized ability to change system programming orconfiguration

� Unauthorized access to, and dissemination of,confidential information (production data, intellectualproperty, environmental emissions, etc.)

� Loss of production, data, or equipment damage due toviruses, malware, and hacking.

These risks must be addressed by implementingtechnologies and procedures including, but not limited to:

� Strong and fine-grained user access control for allsystems

� Confidentiality agreement between involved parties� Definition of, and agreement regarding, which

information can be sent from the plant systems to theremote centre

� Segmentation of networks with firewalls betweensegments

� Installation and regular updating of antivirus softwareon all systems

� Regular updates of process control systems andcomputer operating system software

�


Figure 7—Typical plant information management system architecture

� Proactive monitoring of process control systems andnetworks

� VPN tunnel with encryption between the mine and theremote centre.

The US National Institute of Standards and Technologyrecommends a defense-in-depth strategy that layers securitymechanisms such that the impact of the failure in any onemechanism is minimized (Stouffer, Falco, and Scarfone3).

Provided the above is well addressed, it is possible fordifficult-to-access sites or operations with small staffcontingents or insufficient skills to be supported technicallyand consultatively by using remote monitoring technologies.

Advanced process control

In the operation of a mining plant, critical process variablesoscillate and require the constant supervision of an operatorwho interprets the process conditions and makes adjustmentsto control the process to the desired targets. The complexdynamics and interactions among the process variables makethe task of controlling a mining process a non-trivial activity,resulting in an unnecessary use of energy and resources.Advanced process control (APC) systems reduce processoscillations and lead the process to optimal points where amore stable operation is obtained, achieving betterproduction throughput and quality.

APC systems designed using techniques specificallysuited for control of multivariable processes are aimed specif-ically at stabilization and optimization of process control. Theresults delivered by these systems often achieve the desirableincreased throughput, reduced energy costs, and improvedproduct quality. Based on measured plant performance,strategic control actions are implemented to reduce the gapbetween the management objectives and the measured plantperformance.

Older expert systems, which tried to emulate operatorbest practices, were used mainly during 1980s and 1990s asadvanced process control solutions. Mixed results and theavailability/reliability of the existing solutions negativelyaffected the general acceptance of those systems as aneffective method for process control optimization. However,with the emergence of model predictive control (MPC)technology during the past decade it has been possible toemploy a new approach involving mixing advanced controltechniques to successfully control and optimize mining

processes.MPC technology uses a mathematical model of the

process to predict future process behaviour and pre-planactions in the future to attain desired targets. The controlleroutput is a manipulated variable (MV) applied to the inputsof the process and the process model, and is a part of everyMPC controller. The process model computes a predictedtrajectory of the controlled variable (CV) that is the processoutput. After correction of this trajectory for any mismatchbetween the predicted value and an actual measured value ofthe controlled variable, the predicted trajectory is subtractedfrom the future trajectory of the set point to form an errorvector4 (Figure 8).

Yutronic and Toro5 explained that MPC does notdesignate a particular control strategy, but a set of automaticcontrol methods that uses explicit process models in order tocalculate a control signal by minimizing an objectivefunction, which according to Camacho6 offer some interestingadvantages such as:� It is particularly attractive because its concepts are very

intuitive and it is simple to tune� It can be used in a wide variety of processes, from the

simple ones to processes with complex dynamics andlarge dead times, non-minimum phase, unstable ormultivariable

� The multivariable cases can easily be dealt with� It intrinsically has compensation for dead times� It introduces feed-forward control in a natural way to

compensate for measurable disturbances.

Several successful implementations presented during thelast few years reinforce the benefits provided by modernprocess control technologies7–10.

Production performance and circuit stability can be signif-icantly improved by using an APC solution. As an example,Table I illustrates the production improvements achieved inthe grinding circuit of Nkomati Nickel Mine in South Africa10.

Practical application of the intelligent collaborativeenvironment

A significant problem for many companies involved inminerals processing is that the resources available forexploitation are increasingly located in remote arid locationshaving little infrastructure and with security concerns. Tocounter this, many modern mining operations are now



Figure 8—Illustration of the operation of a MPC controller4


incorporating the use of remote services into their operatingstrategies to address the challenges of operating in theseremote and difficult environments.

The Ramliya cement factory, owned by Arabian CementCompany and located in Egypt, commenced production in2008. The plant produces 6000 tons of cement per day. Allmajor production equipment at the plant was supplied byFLSmidth A/S, who also executed the Engineering,Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) services,including process control and quality control systems. Beforestarting production at the facility, the plant owner signed anoperations and maintenance (O&M) contract with NLSSupervision, an FLSmidth Group company, under which theplant operator provides all staff required to operate andmaintain the facility. The contract includes a bonus/penaltypayment agreement to ensure alignment of the parties’ goalsunder the contract and to provide incentives for the plantoperator to improve operational efficiency and optimizemaintenance of the plant.

To leverage advantages provided by automationtechnology and to support the goals of O&M contracts,FLSmidth inaugurated an Intelligent CollaborativeEnvironment (ICE) Center in 2011. The facility comprises anoperations room and meeting rooms located at the company'sheadquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. The operations roomhas an operator’s console similar to that normally installed inthe control room of a plant, and enables engineers inCopenhagen to monitor and support the operations of plantsanywhere in the world. The meeting rooms allow groups ofengineers to meet to solve any potential mechanical, process,or control issues indentified by the systems andcommunicated to the ICE Center.

Robust and reliable audio and visual communicationssystems are installed to facilitate remote collaboration,including VOIP phone, video conferencing, text chat, and webmeetings. CCTV cameras are installed in the plant and areaccessible via VPN connection. Figure 9 illustrates one of theICE™ Center operations consoles.

Although the initial focus of the ICE Center is to supportplants with O&M contracts such as Ramliya, the ICE Centerconcept will be fine-tuned and based on the experiencegained, rolled out to other locations in support of client's

plants around the world. Figure 10 illustrates the differentelements of the ICE Center.

Zamora11 also introduced a multi-site remote supportcentre for knowledge management and long-term processperformance improvement. This centralized support centreprovides real-time monitoring of open-platform processautomation systems, and online access to process data andcontrol applications information for multiple sites.

Asset management at Ramliya

The IBM Maximo® Enterprise Asset Management system(AMS) is used to manage the maintenance of the plant

�


Table I

Production improvements achieved at Nkomati plant by implementing an APC solution in the grinding circuit10

Figure 9—FLSmidth ICE™ Center operations console

Figure 10—Elements of the intelligent collaboration environmentapplied for Ramliya Plant

Intell igentCollaborativeEnvironment

production assets and the plant operator's maintenance toolsand parts inventory. The AMS has an interface to the plantManagement Information System (MIS) to gather equipmentoperating hours and production volume. The MIS receivesthat information from the Process Control System (PCS).

The AMS is used to schedule and record preventativemaintenance activities. As the AMS has records of actualequipment operating hours and production volumes, thefrequency of maintenance services can be optimized to matchwear based on actual usage. In contrast, schedules based ontime can result in under- or over-scheduling of maintenancework, resulting in waste or reduced asset life.

The AMS is also used for management of spare partsutilized in the maintenance programme. The use of actualequipment operational data in planning of wear partreplacement intervals can help to optimize the replacementinterval planning and reduce the risk of not having theneeded spare parts in inventory. The replenishment ofinventory can be triggered by using a set interval ofequipment run hours or production volume.

Performance and condition monitoring at Ramliya

Online performance and condition monitoring at Ramliyauses a combination of the PCS, MIS, and a ReportCardsystem. Key process variables (temperature, vibration, flowetc.) and equipment status are gathered by the PCS.Exceeding alarm limits or changes in equipment operatingstatus triggers an event in the alarm/event system to notifythe operator that corrective actions may be required. If thealarm was triggered by equipment shutdown, a downtimereason can be noted in the event system along with the eventdata generated by the PCS.

Events are used to trigger notifications by SMS to staffand contain specific equipment and process variables thatthey are interested in. For example, a stack emission value that exceeds permitted limits can trigger a message to theenvironmental manager that contains the current stackemissions levels. High temperature on a critical bearing cantrigger a message to a maintenance scheduler so aninspection of the bearing can be planned. In addition to real-time data, all information collected in the MIS can be used togenerate a report. Access to this type of information allowsthe maintenance staff to move to predictive rather thanpreventative maintenance.

All of the process and status variables can be used forcalculation of KPIs, including overall equipment effectiveness(OEE). This can be done either in the PCS, MIS, or ReportCardapplications, depending on the user's role. Control roomoperators use the PCS system; users requiring periodicreports (daily, monthly) or customized reports use the MISsystem, and users needing to see a quick overview of KPIsuse the ReportCard web interface. Data can be exported fromthe MIS to Excel or text files for further analysis. Figure 11 illustrates a typical MIS report.

Remote access at Ramliya

Remote access systems are in place to enable remotemonitoring, support, and operations. Although remoteoperation is possible and has been tested, control of the plantremains with the local staff at Ramliya for practical reasons.Remote performance and condition monitoring is enabled by

the web interface of the MIS and the ReportCard systems.Data is sent from the MIS at the plant to servers located at theICE Center in Copenhagen using FLSmidth's LiveConnect™system through a secure VPN connection.

Troubleshooting, support, and modification to the PCS,automated quality control, and APC systems can be carriedout remotely by enabling remote control of systemsengineering workstations. At Ramliya a Go2FLS remotesupport system is used both reactively and proactively toallow control system engineers located at any FLSmidth officeto provide support. If an issue is found by the local plant staffthat requires attention of a specialist engineer not available atthe plant, the local staff can initiate a secure remoteconnection to allow the remote engineer to provide support.

The system is also used proactively when an engineermonitoring the plant KPIs from a remote location finds thereis some system that needs attention. If the engineer has theappropriate user rights, they are able to log in and takecontrol of the engineering workstation to resolve the issuecausing the KPI to be below target value. These actionsinclude programming and configuration changes, control looptuning, software updates, antivirus definition updates,system backups, and investigative troubleshooting.

The support provided by the ICE Center to the Ramliyaplant is evidenced by the quantity and duration of remotesupport connections to the plant using the Go2FLS system.The data in Figure 12 shows that there were an average of115 connections made to the plant each month and anaverage of 91 hours supporting the activities at Ramliya. Thisdata is an indication of the support level, but does not includetime spent monitoring data sent from the plant systems orproviding support by phone, video conference, or email.

Advanced Process control at Ramliya

The FLSmidth ECS\ProcessExpert® (PXP) is used to provideadvanced process control of the milling and pyro-processingproduction units. The system uses model-predictive controland fuzzy logic technologies to implement consistentoperational strategies that maximize production, minimizeenergy consumption, and maintain quality objectives.

In operations where there can be continuous changes inthe plant feed characteristics, experience has shown that it isnecessary to occasionally adjust process strategies in the APCsystems. Maintaining good system tuning is crucial tomaximizing the value provided by the systems. Theperformance monitoring and remote access systems describedallow specialist engineers to monitor system KPIs and log inremotely as needed to adjust tuning parameters andimplement strategy changes. This eliminates the need to haveon-site experts at the plant and ensures continued optimalprocess performance through this proactive involvement.

Building teamwork in virtual teams

When a group of people are working together on a commongoal from different physical locations, they are considered tobe a virtual team. Building successful virtual teamwork ismore challenging than in the traditional team that worksphysically close together. A study of 70 virtual teams foundthat only 18 per cent were considered highly successful, andthe remaining 82 per cent fell short of their intended goals12.The success of a remote support strategy is as dependent on



the success of the virtual team as it is on technology. Asuccessful implementation of technology will fail if sufficientconsideration and planning is not given to addressing thepotential hurdles to effective virtual teamwork. If the localplant team does not support the goals of the strategy, it willlikely be a failure. The local and remote teams must accept

working together as one team towards a common goal. Issuesto consider in strategy planning include, but are not limitedto:

� Language� Cultural differences� Resistance to change� Fear of job loss� Lack of trust� Lack of understanding of the strategy and tactics� Difference between the goals of the remote and local

teams� Lack of systems training� Time zone differences.

Conclusion

Rising cost and fierce competition have stimulated globalconsolidation and the incessant search for new opportunitiesin operating the mine of the future, increasing effectiveness,and reducing operational cost. Over the past decade therehave been significant developments in plant automation andinformation systems. The Internet has played a major role insupporting innovative solutions for the mining industry.Information can be available anywhere and at any time,leveraging scarce expertise and remotely supporting andenhancing mining processes.


�


Figure 11—MIS report example

Figure 12—Quantity and duration of Go2FLS support sessionsconnected to Ramliya



Industry research and surveys confirm that the mineralsindustry in general agree that throughput, yield/recoveryrates, reduction in energy costs, and plant availability are themain benefits expected through leveraging plant automation.Asset management solutions, remote access capabilities,performance monitoring solutions, advanced process controltechnologies, and the formation of an intelligent collaborativeenvironment are among the various automation possibilitiesthat have the potential to address industry demand forincreased effectiveness and reduced operational costs.

The example presented in this paper demonstrates thepotential opportunities in supporting the operation of a plantusing an intelligent collaborative environment through thecombination of several automation technologies. The resulthas realized savings in support travel costs and time loss thattraditional support entails. The operation and managementcontract has proven to be mutually beneficial, and the plantowner has subsequently contracted the supply of a secondcement production line at Ramliya to be operated under asimilar contract.

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Excellence. Optimizing Equipment Life-Cycle Decisions. Taylor & FrancisGroup. Boca Raton, FL, 2011. p. 1.

2. Ibid. pp. 2. 3. STOUFFER, K., FALCO, J., and SCARFONE, K. Guide to Industrial Control

Systems (ICS) Security. National Institute of Standards and Technology,Gaithersberg, MD, 2011.

4. BLEVINS, T.L, MCMILLAN, G.K., WOJSZNIS, W.K., and BROWN. M.W. AdvancedControl Unleashed. ISA - The Instrumentation, Systems, and AutomationSociety, 2003. p. 309.

5. YUTRONIC, I. and TORO, R. Design and implementation of advancedautomatic control strategy based on dynamic models for high capacitySAG mill. 42nd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Mineral Processors.Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum, Ottawa, ON,2010. pp. 461–472.

6. CAMACHO, E.F. and BORDONS, C. Model Predictive Control. 2nd edn.Springer-Verlag, London, 2004. p. 2.

7. SIMS, S., LACOUTURE, B., and MCKAY, J. Grinding expert system operation atRed Dog Mine. International Autogenous and Semiautogenous GrindingTechnology 2006, vol. III. Department of Mining Engineering, Universityof British Columbia, 2006. pp. 242–252).

8. PARKER, S., THONG, S., SLOAN, R., PASS, D., and LAM, M. Comparative studyof grinding expert control on two SABC circuits at Barrick GoldCorporation. International Autogenous and Semiautogenous GrindingTechnology 2006, vol. III. Department of Mining Engineering, Universityof British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., 2006. pp. 207–222.

9. ROGERS, M., ALMOND, D.G., MARU, T.D., and BECERRA, K. Model predictivecontrol application at Lumwana Copper Concentrator. Automining 2010.2nd International Congress on Automation in the Mining Industry,Santiago, Chile, 10–12 November 2010.

10. ALMOND, D.G., BECERRA, K., MARU, T.D., and SMIT, D. Model predictivecontrol as a tool for production ramp-up and optimization at the NkomatiNickel Mine. 5th International Conference on Autogenous andSemiautogenous Grinding Technology, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, 25–29September 2011.

11. ZAMORA, C., CODELCO CHILE., and HONEYWELL CHILE. Kairos Mining: a compre-hensive approach to sustained long-term benefits in copper processingplant automation. 42nd Annual Meeting of the Canadian MineralProcessors, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 19–21 January 2010.

12. GOVINDARAJAN, V. and GUPTA, A. Building an effective global business team.MIT Sloan Management Review, 2001. p. 63. �

Documents

The minerals plant of the futureâ€“leveraging automation and using