Smart Flotation for increased froth recovery

Flotation is a complex process, influenced by many variables that affect metallurgical performance. It’s also your best opportunity to maximise material recovery – which is why the latest smart technologies can make such an impact on your bottom line.  

 

For example, smart sensors built into your flotation bank provide continuous analysis of performance so that you can adjust your operating parameters and plan maintenance tasks for maximum effect. Advanced vision systems enable you to identify any object in your froth, and the properties of that object, for maximum material recovery. Plus, our digitally-enabled lifecycle support services ensure consistently high availability, with the reassurance that we’re always on hand if you need us. 

Upgrade and connect your circuit with our advanced equipment, software and services – and enjoy all the productivity benefits of smart flotation systems. 

All mine operators have the potential to improve froth recovery. But not everyone is working within the same parameters. Some could be held back by a lack of data, others by an inability to turn those insights into action. Our Smart Flotation upgrade package is designed as a modular offering that can be customised to meet your needs now, and evolve with you. Choose from a selection of high-quality equipment, digital tools, insights, and services, which can be combined, or installed separately – all supported by our global network of experts and backed by our many decades of experience. 

Basic

 

Level sensors

Accurately sense the depth and level of slurry within the cell with a robust and precise level sensor.

Actuators

FESTO™ actuators receive data from the level sensor and adjust the dart valve position to maintain slurry levels, ensuring the utmost accuracy for optimal performance.

Dart valves

We offer three types of dart valves: cylindrical outside boxes, hinged, and vertical in tank. Our hinged dart valves are designed to have a lower resistance coefficient and provide linear response. The cylindrical outside boxes dart valves give you the option to implement bypasses.

 

Adjustable radial froth crowders

Radial froth crowders reduce top-of-froth surface area and facilitate movement to the nearest radial launders, reducing the froth’s travel distance within the cell.

Control and connect

 

Internet and cloud solutions

Connect your assets to our secure cloud infrastructure. It seamlessly integrates data and signals, enabling greater visibility to identify operational improvements and potential bottlenecks that may impact productivity.

 

ECS™ Product Control Solution

Our control system software, ECS™ Product Control, gives you a 24/7 view of performance metrics, enabling you to increase reliability. By tracking and trending operating parameters, you can continually adjust and optimise your circuit’s performance for maximum return with minimum waste.

 

SiteConnect™

The SiteConnect™ Mobile Insights App enables you to visualise real-time performance and asset health data, even when you are not on site.

 

Advanced instrumentation

 

Froth camera

Our newest technology measures the froth’s velocity and stability and can also identify the froth grade with the help of Deep Neural Network (DNN) technology and object detection.

 

In addition to traditional measurements, such as froth velocity and stability, it provides froth grade detection by measuring the froth velocity, bubble size, colour spectrums and mass pull rate. DNN allows it to classify the froth (such as barren, pulping, etc.), automatically discrediting images with direct sunlight to eliminate false grade classifications. 

LIDAR is an add-on to the froth cameras that detects the froth height above and below the lip. The technology uses eye-safe laser beams to create a 3D representation of the surveyed environment. Froth height measurement is crucial for estimating the mass pull rate and volumetric pull rate. 

 

Quality Control

 

Samplers

Multi-stage sampling enables highly accurate, highly representative results. We typically use two or three sampling installations at key locations, using linear or rotary primary sample cutters. In tandem with the composite samples produced for metallurgical accounting, these crosscut, fully representative samples can also be customised to provide continuous flow to online analysers such as slurry X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysers.

 

PERI™ Online slurry Analysis system

This customisable system utilises a solid-state, room-temperature Energy Dispersive X-ray.

 

Fluorescence (EDXRF) detector to provide accurate, reliable and cost-effective information for plant control that doesn’t require either liquid nitrogen or radioisotopes.  

Services and optimisation

 

ECS/Process Expert® Advanced Process Control

Our ECS/ProcessExpert® advanced process control solution takes the data and insights gained from the froth camera and other instruments and combines it with artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, model predictive control (MPC) and fuzzy logic to proactively optimise your flotation circuit. This allows you to perfectly stabilise flotation cell level control, reducing variability in the cell and maximising recovery at the desired grade.  

Online condition monitoring services

Proactive maintenance begins with online condition monitoring services. With sensors on your equipment, we gather data and connect this data to the cloud where our network of experts identify potential problems and their root causes and develop optimal solutions to prevent those problems from escalating.

 

TCO analysis

Our Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Tool reliably forecasts and optimises your operational and maintenance requirements, enabling you to reduce costs and budget more effectively for maintenance work.  

Digital Checklist Tool

The Digital Checklist Tool is a mobile app that provides onsite technicians with predefined inspection checklists. During inspection, it quickly captures asset data in a structured way. The resulting report gives you all the information you need to take any necessary action, thus reducing downtime and OPEX costs.

PlantLine™ Service Agreement

This service agreement offers expert support for your digital tools and software, saving you valuable time and resources, giving you peace of mind, and enabling you to make the most of your equipment.