Abstract:

This work highlights a comprehensive Advanced Process Control (APC) health check, structured into three distinct phases, aimed at enhancing operational efficiency and autonomy in mining operations.

The APC health check is designed to systematically evaluate and optimize control strategies within mining operations. Each phase ensures a thorough analysis and implementation of improvements.

The first phase involves categorizing control loops by their operational importance, evaluating the current process control strategy, and conducting a thorough performance analysis of basic control loops (PID loops) using the Hatch Solution.

The second phase entails a detailed performance review of the existing strategy, including current APC applications (such as MPC and fuzzy logic). This phase includes a comparative analysis with and without APC, benchmarked against industry standards. The objective is to identify areas for improvement, verify the effectiveness of the APC strategy, and outline a roadmap with quantifiable improvement opportunities for further optimization through tuning existing APC applications or implementing additional advanced controls like MPC.

The final phase focuses on fine-tuning identified underperforming basic control loops and potentially implementing or refining advanced control loops. Completing this three-phase APC health check maximizes the use of control loop diagnostic tools, sustains operational performance, maintains the benefits of the APC scheme, and identifies further optimization opportunities.

A recent case study demonstrates the application of this APC health check solution in a mining operation in South America. The deployment by Hatch’s integrated team of process, control systems, and APC experts yielded significant insights, uncovering new opportunities and maximizing the benefits of APC schemes in Grinding & Regrinding (SAG and conventional grinding) and Flotation areas.

This presentation highlights the potential of Hatch’s APC solutions in driving operational efficiency through a structured and systematic approach to process control optimization.

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Mr. Hamid Khatibi