Mining and Cement Industries

Issue 2015 MineralsFocus The Magazine for the Mining and Cement Industries

Cover Story: Mining: Cement: Tailor-made Cemat – 40 years The future is today modernization in service Edzard Lübben With some 17,500 “ software engineers worldwide, Siemens counts among the world’s biggest software companies.” Editorial | MineralsFocus 4/2015

Dear Reader,

Products from Siemens are built to last. A prime example is But getting to this vision won’t happen overnight. Incre- the mine winder, which Siemens started supplying over 110 mental steps are necessary. Today some essential steps can years ago. Or our Gearless Mill Drives – some of which have be taken in the minerals industry to increase the degree of been in operation for over 40 years. Throughout their service digitalization. So whether we’re talking about tools for auto- life, these machines have been modernized and kept up to mation, engineering or planning, minerals operators get date. The same approach has been taken for Cemat, the pro- assistance to counter some of the current problems in the cess control system for the cement industry, which is now market, such as declining grades and price volatility. And they celebrating 40 years in service: All along, Cemat and Minerals get closer to the vision of Industry 4.0. Automation Standard – the Simatic PCS 7-based process con- Aside from addressing this fascinating topic, in this issue trol system for the specific requirements of the mining indus- we also review minerals projects all over the world. Sitrans try – have been continuously updated. But at Siemens, it’s LR560 is helping operators at the Holcim cement factory in never change for the sake of change: customers are our top Untervaz, Switzerland, to accurately measure solids (page priority, and the guiding principle is that innovations answer 44). Holcim in Brazil has increased its production levels with their challenges and respond to the industry’s key concerns. the addition of a MultipleDrive vertical mill (page 46). In the In today’s world, software is playing a bigger and bigger role. mining sector, the Frozen Charge Protection function and Many are surprised, in fact, to learn that Siemens employs Frozen Charge Shaker solve the problem of falling charge, some 17,500 software engineers worldwide. These engineers and thereby keep downtime low (page 16). Naturally, these work on a complete portfolio of industry software to support are just a few examples of the stories you’ll find in this issue. customers along the entire value chain – from product design, We look forward to your feedback – and the opportunity production planning and engineering to actual production to work together with you to solve the challenges you are and service. Their work results in automation and digitaliza- facing. tion solutions for all industrial verticals Siemens serves. In this issue of MineralsFocus, we show how an increased use of automation and digitalization technologies can help minerals producers to better adjust to changes in the market. This technology is part of a bigger development happening Sincerely, under the umbrella of Industrie 4.0 – also known internation- ally as the Internet of Things – which is an initiative in the German government’s high-tech strategy. The vision of Indus- trie 4.0: machines largely organize themselves, supply chains automatically coordinate themselves, and products supply all their production data to the machines on which they’ll be Edzard Lübben manufactured. Head of Minerals

3 MineralsFocus 4/2015 | Contents

Contents

Tools like XHQ lend a higher degree of To find the optimal solution to moving material in mines, 8 digitalization to mining processes 32 topology, volumes and distance must be examined

Siemens is a leading provider of efficient Energy Performance Contracting from Siemens 38 equipment to mining companies in Africa 36 helps cement factories save energy

4 Contents | MineralsFocus 4/2015

Learning from other sectors

As manufacturers look to the future, they are examining how advanced information and communication technologies can boost value creation. In Germany, this development is called Industrie 4.0. While some sectors are far along on the path toward Industrie 4.0, the mining industry is still at the beginning. It is time that mining companies embrace digitalization innovations that have proven their value in other sectors.

Cover Story 20 Cleaner coal energy for Serbia Cement Lower CO₂ emissions

08 The future is today 24 Master of all options 40 40 years in service – and still as Digitalization of processes will help Mine winders innovative as ever the mining industry get closer to Cemat: the leading process the vision of Industrie 4.0. Three 26 African mine gets a tailored control system for the cement technologies that have proven solution industry their value in other industries have SAG mill drive system made their way into mining opera- 42 First-choice automation tions: automation, the Comos software platform and XHQ, short for 28 Concept proves its value again 44 Solid performance for solids eXtended Head Quarters. Freeport mine in Papua, Indonesia measurement Sitrans LR560 30 Accuracy makes the difference The use of Milltronics MMI belt Mining scales in a coal mine 46 Not just larger, higher reliability and availability too MultipleDrive for optimum plant 14 Bringing control technology up to 32 Moving more with less availability and productivity date Bulk transport in mining Tailor-made modernization for 48 Riding the wave increased longevity 36 Maximum efficiency with minimum risk Cement expertise from Siemens India 16 More uptime for Los Bronces Energy efficiency, retrofitting and Frozen Charge Protection and financing Frozen Charge Shaker 38 Siemens: A partner for African 18 All the benefits, none of the risks mines Training Simulator Raising mine competitiveness

03 Editorial | 06 Facts & Figures | 50 Awards & Fairs | 50 Dialogue

5 MineralsFocus 4/2015 | Facts & Figures

Anglo American

Meeting with Anglo American CEO Mark Cutifani at Siemens Tower in Beijing, China, in January 2015 (from left to right): Mondli Guma (Anglo American), William Fu (Anglo American), Robert Lind (Anglo American), Martin Klarer (Siemens), James Harmann (Anglo American), Edzard Lübben (Siemens), Klaus Schmid (Siemens), Mark Cutifani (Anglo American), Ben Williams (Anglo Ameri- can), Hans-Jürgen Pelloth (Siemens), Paul Cahill (Anglo American), Bin Lin (Siemens), Fu Qiang (Siemens)

A revolution for open-pit mining

Siemens is cooperating with Continental and ThyssenKrupp on the development and marketing of a steel cable conveyor system for open-pit mines. The system will allow conveyors to be built with inclinations of up to 50°.

The cooperation partners Siemens, cally transport ore and overburden drive, which has no gears between ContiTech Conveyor Belt Group and over slopes with inclinations of 30° the drum and motor. Initial feasibility ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions to 50°. As a result, new market seg- studies have proven safe transmission are laying a milestone for the reduc- ments can be tapped. of up to 8 MW. “Our direct drive for tion of heavy-duty truck traffic in belt conveyors is the ideal solution for open-pit mines. Together the three Siemens delivers drive the Chevron MegaPipe: Because of partners are implementing the Chev- the chevron profile, the traction of technology ron MegaPipe steel cable conveyor the drum to the belt is possible with system, a high-strength steel cable The construction design of the Chev- only one drive drum. Furthermore, conveyor belt with an outer diameter ron MegaPipe requires drives in the with steep conveyance, a consider- of up to 900 mm. The new technolo- megawatt power range. Siemens able higher lifting power is necessary. gy will make it possible to economi- solves the challenge with a direct Our self-developed direct drive tech-

6 Facts & Figures | MineralsFocus 4/2015

Anglo American focuses on automation and digitization

Anglo American underlines the importance of Siemens products, solutions and expertise for its mining operations.

In January 2015, top officials from a new operating model, the company oppor tunities. He also acknowledged Anglo American and Siemens met at aims to further improve its operational that Siemens’s experience offered his Siemens China’s headquarters in Beijing performance to deliver sustainable company learning opportunities from to share insights and identify potential change. This work will position Anglo other industry segments, such as the areas for further collaboration in auto- American at the leading edge of tech- oil & gas, chemicals and automotive mation and digitization. The Anglo nology development and innovation sectors. The automotive sector, for American delegation was led by Chief across the mining value chain. example, is a forerunner in using auto- Executive Officer Mark Cutifani. Speaking at the meeting, Mark mation and digitization for just-in-time Anglo American is focusing on the Cutifani emphasized the value of Anglo delivery. This experience could provide automation and digitization of its mine American’s long-standing partnership valuable insight for Anglo American’s planning and processes as part of its with Siemens, particularly in heavy new operating model. Q broader innovation drive to build up equipment supply, digital design and efficiencies, enhance returns and gen- energy efficiency. The collaboration Contact: erate greater value. With the help of ensured that Anglo American Hans-Jürgen Pelloth leading technologies and by rolling out remained aware of new technological [email protected]

nology has already proven its value Siemens, Continental and ThyssenKrupp in many installations,” says Norbert Becker, Vice President of Siemens Mining, Excavation & Transport. The three partners look back on a history of successful collaboration. In 1985, for example, a conveyor system from ThyssenKrupp was equipped with direct drives from Siemens and with the ST7500 conveyor belt from ContiTech. “For the development and marketing of a new technology, we need ex- perienced and dependable partners. We have found just that in ThyssenK- rupp and Siemens,” says Hans-Jürgen Duensing, Head of the ContiTech Conveyor Belt Group. Q

Links: Together the cooperation partners want to set a milestone for the reduction of www.siemens.com/mining heavy-duty truck traffic in open-pit mines. www.contitech.de/press

7 MineralsFocus 4/2015 | Cover Story

Automation/digitalization The future is today

The Internet of Things – which is an essential part of the German initiative Industrie 4.0 – is synonymous with the digitalization of industrial processes. While some industries are far along in the digitalization of manufacturing processes, others like the minerals sector still have some ground to cover. Technologies are available today to help mining companies increase digitalization and at the same time tackle the woes plaguing the industry.

8 Cover Story | MineralsFocus 4/2015

“Tracking the trends 2015” also includes quotes from experts, which together paint a future of increased digitalization. Their overall message is that by adopting innovative technologies and making increased use of information technology (IT), mining companies can put themselves in an even better position for the next upswing. Simply put, digitalization can be seen as a valuable tool to help mine managers to do their jobs even better.

More digitalization The idea of expanding the use of technology and IT to gain a competitive advantage is nothing new. Basically, this is the cornerstone of a movement to embed more and more objects with electronics, sensors and software, and allow the objects to communicate with one another via the Internet. Fittingly, the term Internet of Things has been coined for the trend. For many branches of industry, the Internet of Things is seen as a spearhead for a revolution in manufacturing. In Germany, the Inter- net of Things is an essential part of an initiative called Industrie 4.0 – an initiative of the German automation industry sponsored by the German government. Its objective is to define the way forward for manufacturing companies in the Internet age. Thomas Walther, who is in charge of Minerals Automation at Siemens, says that Industrie 4.0 means introducing more intelligence to a process industry over the entire lifecycle: “From planning to commissioning, including operations and maintenance, more steps that were previously completed manually will be done without human intervention.” Some industries have been quick to adopt a higher degree of digitalization in their processes and are already closer eclining grades. Price volatility. Deloitte consultancy firm on the min- to this vision of Industrie 4.0. A fore- Project suspensions. These are ing industry. The study lists the top runner in this regard is the automobile D just some of the lesser-than- ten issues mining players can expect industry. The mining industry, however, pleasing trends that companies in the to confront this year and strategies to is still at the beginning. As suggested in minerals industry have to contend buck the trends. The first three deal the Deloitte trend study, it is time that with. Unfortunately, there is no indica- with improving operational excel- mining companies embrace innovation that these challenges will let up lence, among others by collecting and tions that have proven their value in anytime soon. Part of the answer, it using data intelligently; embracing other sectors. When thinking about seems, can be found in how mining innovation, including technologies where Siemens can offer well-proven firms organize themselves and their and applications now used in other elements from other industries for the business processes. industries and applying them to solve specific challenges of the mining indus- This is the general tenor in “Track- problems in minerals production; and try, three solutions stand out in partic- ing the trends 2015,” a study from the reducing costs, particularly for energy. ular: end-to-end process automation 3

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Simatic PCS 7 – the Siemens automation workhorse

Simatic PCS 7, upon which Minerals Automation Standard and Cemat are based, has been installed in around 20,000 projects in all process industry sectors. The country with the most Simatic PCS 7 installations is China, follow by Germany and the United States. A recent implementation of the Minerals Automation Standard was in Peru for mining company Hudbay Peru. Siemens installed the complete electric and automation solution, including 5 client operator stations, 6,000 process objects, 5,800 I/O and 35 modular I/O stations.

3 and instrumentation; the engineering Integrated Automation (TIA) in 1996 In the mining industry, the ground- and application software Comos for the enabled the coordination of compo- work for the journey toward digitaliza- entire plant lifecycle phase which in nents in production processes, allow- tion starts with rock-solid automation – turn serves as a basis for completely ing companies to closely integrate automation that boasts the highest digitalized production; and a software their software and hardware. Siemens availability, reliability and efficiency platform like XHQ (eXtended Head has since continuously enhanced the possible. Automation can be seen as Quarters) that collects data from a num- TIA offering. In 2007, the company in- the brain, a closely knit network of sen- ber of sources to give decision makers troduced a comprehensive family of sors and instruments as the eyes and and management a real-time condensed product lifecycle management (PLM) ears, and integrated drive systems as overview of all information so they can software products, to which it is con- the body. Minerals Automation Stan- make the best decisions possible. tinually adding more modules. The dard is Siemens’ process control system aim of PLM software is to optimize for the specific requirements of the Automation: the basis product development. And to achieve mining industry. Minerals Automation this goal, design, prototype develop- Standard is closely related to Cemat For quite some time, Siemens has ment and simulation take place in the (see page 40), the market leader for been laying the groundwork for digita- virtual world so that development process control systems in the cement lization. The introduction of Totally times can be significantly reduced. industry. More than 40 years of matured

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functionality for automation of cement plants and for typical mining automation application functions are combined in the solution. With the migra- tion concept integrated into the automation, the investment of a client is protected and at the same time the Industrie 4.0 operator can profit from the latest in- As manufacturers look to the future, they are examining how novations in the software standard. advanced information and communication technologies can Minerals Automation Standard en- boost value creation. In Germany, this development is called sures that operators receive the best Industrie 4.0. Similar initiatives have been launched in other support for performing their duties. European countries, China, the United States and elsewhere. Innovative and proven functions for Industrie 4.0 aims to achieve production-related advantages by operation and integrated maintenance creating a networked, flexible and dynamically self-organizing functions assist in fast diagnosis of manufacturing process for highly customizable products. Over potential faults – even before the the next 15 to 20 years, it is expected to be accompanied by a appearance of a problem. Downtimes paradigm shift that could justifiably be called the fourth indus- are thereby reduced. The mining-spe- trial revolution. The result will appear to be revolutionary from cific library provides the best route to today’s point of view, but ultimately it will involve a large num- increased operational efficiency. Espe- ber of development steps in a process of evolution. cially in regard to engineering: pre- The first industrial revolution was triggered by the invention defined and proven functional modules of the steam engine and the mechanization of manual work in and faceplates for many applications the 18th century. The second revolution was made possible by and processes make engineering easy, the introduction of electricity and involved the use of mass pro- fast and reliable. Minerals Automation duction techniques in the early 20th century, and the third was Standard utilizes the modern process ushered in during the past few decades by electronic systems control system Simatic PCS 7 with its and computer technologies for automating manufacturing and open, flexible and scalable architecture finishing processes. Now the rules are changing again in many as its system platform. The advantage sectors, due to the digitalization of the entire value chain and of a high level of automation is that continuous and pervasive access to a comprehensive range of operators know the status of each piece information in the form of virtual models, data and knowledge. of mechanical equipment. Only when a control center has access to all the data at a mine can it begin to leverage that data to improve overall day-to-day operations. Auto- mation alone isn’t enough – everything has to be connected with one another. However, mines are generally in remote areas with a harsh environment. Furthermore, great distances between the different process steps are the norm – for example excavation Anglo American counts on Minerals Automation Standard at the top of a mountain and beneficiation in a lower-lying valley. It therefore takes special technology to connect the process automation and “ For future developments, Anglo American Platinum individual plant sections as well as will be focusing on digitalization and automation of mobile equipment like trucks in the different parts of a mine. Standard its production processes. The Siemens Minerals Auto- communications networks fit for harsh mation Standard will be key to meeting these require- environments like products in the Rug- gedcom portfolio from Siemens do the ments and it offers an ideal basis for economical job. They link everything at the field and future-proof solutions.” level and transport the data into the overall network. Adherence to international standards such as IEC 61850 and IEEE 1613 ensure reliable commu- Gary Humphries, Head of Process Control at nications and secure transmission. Anglo American Platinum Limited High levels of electromagnetic inter- 3

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and software engineering with a distributed control system (DCS). All data created during the engineering phase can be reused in the operational phase. For the operational phase, Comos Operation assists in implementing an efficient plant support strategy. Avail- able applications include solutions both for maintenance during ongoing operations and overhaul during shutdown. Comos Lifecycle supports comprehensive information management throughout all plant lifecycle phases. The benefit is maximum reliability in decision-making. Plant operators have worldwide access to data and documents, so they can react quickly to changing market demands. “Perhaps XHQ Enterprise Operations Intelligence displays all critical information so that operators can make the most informed decisions. one of the greatest advantages of Co- mos is that changes made in one application are immediately reflected in 3 ference, extreme temperatures and Comos, the plant engineering software all other applications,” says Walther. long distances are not a problem for platform. The software solution con- Cement plants operating with Comos Ruggedcom, which employs industrial tains applications for all plant lifecycle enjoy significantly lower costs – by ap- tethered and/or wireless communica- phases, from engineering and opera- proximately 60% – and less effort and tion for high levels of mobility and tions to modernization as well as time are needed for daily operations. flexibility. Through the use of standard dismantling. And with completely up-to-date engi- communication protocols like Profinet, At the heart of a plant operating neering models, it is not unheard of real-time communication is possible with Comos is a common database. for throughput time to be reduced by and commands can be relayed to Because all data is always available more than 50%. equipment that is moving and kilo- and up to date, it depicts the actual A number of industries are already meters away. The Siemens network as-built status of a plant at all times. benefiting from Comos. In pharmaceu- communication portfolio offers cus- This is especially helpful in planning ticals, the Swiss company Novartis tomers a comprehensive range of modernizations, since there is no need Pharma AG in close cooperation with products for fully integrated network to catalogue the current status of a Siemens launched a program for a infrastructures from a single source plant with the arduous task of updat- standardization of its engineering that can be quickly deployed. ing old plans. Formerly separate fields worldwide. Since 2004, Novartis Phar- such as process technology, mechani- ma has been successfully using the Savings with smart engineer- cal and electrical engineering and con- Comos software solution for the pur- trol technology are all combined into ing and beyond poses of plant engineering, lifecycle the standardized data structure of data management and plant documen- The Deloitte study calls on mining Comos. Furthermore, Comos simplifies tation. In the meantime, the entire en- operators to reduce costs, particularly data exchange between partners and gineering at the main production sites with energy. Siemens has a wealth of suppliers, thereby helping to avoid – including process technology as well experience in this area, for example misunderstandings. as electrical, measurement and control with highly efficient drive trains in A special aspect of Comos is the technology – has been carried out ex- which all components are ideally de- range of software solutions for the en- clusively with Comos. The customer signed to fit with one other. For exist- tire plant lifecyle. Three applications reports significant improvements in ing systems, Siemens performs in come to the fore in the engineering terms of efficiency and quality. collaboration with customers energy phase: Comos Platform provides a basis audits to produce a transparent picture for effective overall data management. The big picture with XHQ of all consumers in a mine and to iden- The creation of process data and all Enterprise Operations Intelli- tify potential to reduce energy consump- aspects of process engineering are cov- tion. The audits also include a return- ered in Comos Process. Comos Automa- gence on-investment calculation. End-to-end tion supports electrical engineering for Comos offers worldwide access to data automation, of course, makes carrying a plant through to full automation cov- and documents, but that is generally out an audit a great deal easier. There ering all processes relevant to electrical, not enough to make the most informed is, though, another solution from instrumentation and control engineer- decisions. Therefore, Siemens offers Siemens that can help save money, ing. Comos Automation also has a XHQ Enterprise Operations Intelligence; and not just in the operations phase: Simatic PCS 7 interface for exchange XHQ stands for eXtended Head Quar-

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ters. Originally created for the oil and sure the most effective troubleshoot- over the world. “Until now, there still isn’t gas industry, XHQ has long found use ing. Access to this equipment health a mining industry reference in which all in other sectors to aid in improving monitoring data can be made available the solutions we mention here have been operational excellence through the col- to operations managers, equipment installed,” says Walther. However, as more lection and intelligent use of data. operators, sensor vendors and service and more companies make investments Operations personnel throughout all personnel to provide important trans- in digitalization, he is optimistic that it levels of a manufacturing organization parency for equipment health, and thus won’t be long before there is one. The typically struggle to pull together a can be used to improve and sustain willingness to invest in measures to complete, timely picture of a situation. mining operations. increase productivity looks good. Like missing pieces of a puzzle, critical Influenced by a successful imple- The BNamericas Mining Survey 2015 information is often scattered through- mentation of XHQ and a Manufactur- reports that 93.5% of mining company out a variety of databases, enterprise ing Execution System (MES) over the respondents are planning to make in- applications and operational systems in last seven years in its steel plants, a vestments in 2015 to improve produc- a wide range of formats with a confus- Brazilian customer selected Siemens tivity. One aspect includes automation ing mix of unrelated contexts. Only business Chemtech to deploy XHQ and and technical improvements, and better when this information comes together MES to control the entire iron ore pro- equipment maintenance practices. In in a meaningful way can it be used to duction chain from the Casa de Pedra all cases, Siemens has extensive experi- react to a given situation. Therefore, mine to the port of Itaguaí. XHQ is to- ence. Those who embrace a higher XHQ extracts, aggregates, relates and tally integrated with MES so that opera- degree of digitalization will increase presents operational and business data tors can manage the production and lo- their flexibility and be able to more from a variety of information sources – gistics of the mine-port supply chain. quickly adjust to changes in the market. enterprise resource planning (ERP), Custom KPIs and a drill down to individ- The problems facing the minerals indus- data warehouse, production databases, ual segments are established according try today do not look like they will be document management systems, pro- to the needs of each user. XHQ consoli- gone anytime soon. The possibilities of cess historians and manufacturing. dates data generated by MES in a stan- digitalization, however, can ease the XHQ provides users with a wide, dardized and simplified way, guiding way. Siemens is using its expertise to unique range of coherent, up-to-the- the analysis of managers and support- help the minerals industry become minute information. This data is then ing the decision-making activities of more effective and save money. The used to monitor performance and process coordinators. only prerequisite is a willingness to make better, more informed, actionable embrace innovation. With more digitali- decisions – for greater efficiency and Great potential for minerals zation comes access to the most up-to- reduced costs. XHQ can be easily cus- date information. So whether we’re tomized for each user. All of the solutions described above are talking about price deterioration or lower The true advantage of XHQ comes available today – and they have been ore grades, operators can find the best from the fact that decision makers have individually employed at mining sites all solution to ensure profitability. Q relevant, personalized and easy-to- understand information at their finger- tips. Production plants can be tracked in real time, and the data can be compared, for example, with price indices, KPIs and other company production sites, wherever they may be. This information allows operations performance to be taken to the next level. Answers to questions such as how am I doing against objectives, how are we doing collectively, and what should we do in this situation given current conditions can be answered easily with XHQ. For the mining industry, XHQ gives operators access to real-time information that can strengthen the ability to maintain performance of equipment used for mining operations. With XHQ, operators can monitor equipment performance within specified operating parameters, based on a metrics strategy. Operators can reduce the probability of operating limit exceedances using alarms, alerts and notifications to en-

13 MineralsFocus 4/2015 | Mining/Cement

Tailor-made modernization for increased longevity Bringing control technology up to date

Many Siemens Gearless Mill Drives (GMDs) have been in operation for decades. Last year, the combined operation of all GMDs from Siemens in the mining industry reached 500 years. While motors easily achieve this lifetime, the situation with electronic controls can be different. Rapid advancements in electronics and computer technologies have allowed significant progress in the control technology of mill drive systems.

he control part of a GMD includes of the Sinamics SL150 drive control sys- further years of continuous and reli- not only the direct control system tem for the cycloconverter to replace able operation. Tfor the motor, but also low-volt- the Simadyn technology triggered an Of course, each GMD is individual, age distribution, transformer protec- extensive engineering development so there is no single modernization tion, automation (PLC), visualization with the specific aim of evaluating the blueprint or one-size-fits-all concept. (HMI), and peripheries like the air-gap complete electrical component of the Rather, the most suitable moderniza- monitoring system and speed sensor. older systems, defining adequate sub- tion solution has to be worked out in All these systems can be affected to stitute solutions and developing alter- close cooperation with the customer. some degree by the technological native modernization concepts. The It is important to keep in mind that aging process. result of this development is a variety the grinding mill is probably the most Siemens has been successfully of innovative approaches, based on critical bottleneck in the mine produc- modernizing selected equipment at in- standard modules, to modernize the tion process, and each hour of down- stalled systems for many years. How- existing mill drive to a state-of-the-art time represents a potentially heavy ever, the introduction some years ago system in order to prepare it for many financial loss for the customer. There-

14 Mining/Cement | MineralsFocus 4/2015

the running system. The final commissioning was implemented during a Anton Bartinger, Technical Director of the Cement Division at the regular shutdown in January 2015. Rohrdorfer Gruppe, on a modernization project implemented in As a result, the actual switchover from January 2015: the old to the new converter did not cause a single day’s loss of production. “Everything worked so smoothly that the conversion process was completed Further recent examples of particu- without me noticing much at all. Everything had been planned down to the last larly tailor-made modernization proj- detail by my team and by Siemens in advance. We are delighted to now have a ects: a mine in Chile commissioned state-of-the-art drive system at work in our mill. This project has meant a hugely Siemens for the supply of new control reduced risk of failure for the mill, which is so vital to our whole production pro- system in a new small prefabricated cess, and vastly improved availability over the coming years.” e-house; a customer in Indonesia ordered together with the modernization of drive control and automation Siemens’ newly developed Training Simulator (see page 18); and for a Electrical room at GMD modernization in Australia Rohrdorfer Gruppe Siemens was contracted to exchange, plant with the origi- in addition to the drive control, the nal converter cubi- third-party PLC. cles (left) and the Whether for the replacement of sin- new converter cubi- gle components all the way to com- cles (right) installed in parallel. plete systems, Siemens offers tailor- made modernization solutions for aging plants. Customers can benefit also by adding new and enhanced features that were not previously implemented on their system, and they can fore, it becomes evident that the tech- and improve its modernization con- increase the overall performance or nological aspects are only one of the cepts. Experience clearly shows how even the capacity of their mill drive. Q important factors to determine the right worthwhile it is to spend sufficient modernization concept. It is equally im- time and resources at the very begin- portant to analyze how many shutdown ning in order to evaluate all possible Author: days – intermittent and in total – are alternatives and find the best possible Stefano P. Scagliola necessary for the modernization work. technical solution for each applica- [email protected] How can the cutover be reduced to a tion to fit the customer’s require- minimum by expert planning and exe- ments. Considering the importance cution? Which equipment definitely has of the cutover work and the potential to be exchanged and which compo- cost of the related production loss, nents can remain without compromis- the implementation of the work dur- Benefits of modernization ing future performance? Could a new ing the cutover has proven to be just e-house possibly be installed around the as important as the right technical • Profit from the latest develop- GMD? Can the modernization be com- concept itself. A highly motivated ments in automation and drive bined with a regular mechanical over- can-do project team and a trusting technology haul of the motor? The answers to these and cooperative relationship with the • Continue mill drive operation for and other questions help Siemens engi- customer are additional indispensable years to come at high levels of neers evaluate all associated risks and factors for a successful modernization productivity, reliability and develop a solution that strikes a perfect project. availability balance between investment costs, The latest example of an imple- • Increase plant availability through minimum duration of the cutover and mented modernization project is the improving troubleshooting and expected performance increase. GMD in a cement factory belonging diagnostic possibilities as well as to Rohrdorfer Gruppe. The GMD was personnel training Putting experience to use originally installed in 1969, and was • Minimize the impact, cost and risk the very first Siemens GMD in opera- of the modernization work on op- In the last few years, Siemens has fun- tion. At the beginning of 2014, erations through optimized and damentally modernized more than ten Siemens was awarded a contract to standardized packages in combi- GMDs with the latest automation and modernize the complete drive system nation with other routine work drive technology, giving Siemens the and to exchange the air-gap sensors. • Improve serviceability possibility to gain plenty of experience The new drive system, an air-cooled in the field and thereby further develop converter, was installed in parallel to

15 MineralsFocus 4/2015 | Mining

Frozen Charge Protection and Frozen Charge Shaker More uptime for Los Bronces

If undetected, frozen charge can wreak havoc in a mill, all the way to failure of the mill body and bearings. To prevent such an occurrence, Siemens offers the Frozen Charge Protection function. However, as detection alone does not solve the problem, Siemens also provides an automatic solution to loosen the charge: the Frozen Charge Shaker™. Together they keep downtime low, as proven more than once at the Los Bronces copper mine in Chile.

This safe angle is The motor then The Frozen Charge Shaker between the plant- lets the mill fall lifts the charge to an angle, specific cascading back, electrically safe for the mill. angle and below 90°. controlled.

In case the charge does not The motor lifts ... and then lets the slip, the motor continues the mill to the same mill fall back. turning to the other side and safe angle... the procedure is repeated.

16 Mining | MineralsFocus 4/2015

owntime is costly. And it is all Detection – and a solution 26-foot ball mills were commissioned, the more aggravating when it all equipped with Siemens GMDs. Not Dcould have been prevented. Siemens Gearless Mill Drives (GMDs) long after commissioning, the Frozen When a grinding mill is shutdown for are equipped with Frozen Charge Pro- Charge Shaker proved its value: Frozen maintenance for hours or even days, tection, which automatically detects charge was detected on September 10, the charge remaining in the mill can frozen charge – and if present, protects 2012, on Ball Mill No. 2. By applying easily solidify and attach itself to the the mill by switching it off. Detecting the shaker, the material was loosened shell of the mill. This is called frozen frozen charge is only the first step, and the mill resumed normal operation charge – also referred to as locked, however. The charge then has to be in less than 15 minutes. No additional cemented or baked charge. loosened. Breaking up material stuck flushing and no mechanical removal How frozen charge can cause addi- to the mill body through conventional, were necessary, which would have tional downtime becomes apparent mechanical means – such as flushing caused downtime of several hours or when a mill not equipped with the with water jets or using jackhammers – even days. The same procedure was ap- Frozen Charge Protection function is takes several hours or even days. plied with the same positive results on restarted. If the charge fails to cascade The modern Siemens GMDs come September 5, 2013, again on Ball Mill upon starting the mill and suddenly optionally with a patented solution – No. 2, and on March 20, 2014, on Ball drops down from the top of the mill the Frozen Charge Shaker™ – to auto- Mill No. 1. after a 180° revolution, it can destroy matically loosen the charge. The shak- Should frozen charge remain in the body and bearings. Major repairs er lifts the charge to a risk-free angle, the mill, despite application of Frozen are then needed, resulting in produc- and “shakes” the mill by varying its Charge Shaker, Frozen Charge Protec- tion loss. This was exactly the case at a speed and acceleration. tion shuts the mill off so that the pro- 14 MW SAG mill in Ghana. Falling frozen The Frozen Charge Shaker has been cedure can be repeated. The greatest charge put the mill out of commission deployed in various facilities world- advantage of Frozen Charge Shaker for 112 hours, and the production loss wide, including the Los Bronces copper is increased productivity through the carried a price tag of $8.9 million.1) mine in Chile. In 2011, a 22 MW gear- reduction of downtime. Above all, However, with the right technology this less drive for a 40-foot SAG mill and the mill itself is protected from major type of costly incident can be averted. two 16.4 MW gearless drives for two damage. Q

1) Published by De Beer, Lombaard, Warner & van Zyl at the SAG Conference in Vancouver, 2011.

Rolled back to a plant-specific angle between 30° and 45°, the How it works motor applies a countertorque Frozen Charge Protection of 130° of rated torque. The mill shell stops, and the charge Siemens’ Frozen Charge Protection is coupled with the behav- slips, due to the impact of the The mill shell stops, ior of the mill charge. During normal operation, the charge countertorque. and the charge slips. cascades after the mill reaches a certain angle – between 40° and 70° – at which point the load torque decreases. This de- crease in torque is monitored and used by the Frozen Charge Protection function to safely stop the mill before dropping frozen charge can damage it.

Frozen Charge Shaker Loosening frozen charge from the mill body is the task of Frozen Charge Shaker. The charge is lifted to an angle safe for the mill, and the mill is moved back and forth with varying speed and acceleration. The angle and movement are designed to break the frozen charge and remove it from the mill body, as proven on many occasions, for example at the Los Bronces copper mine in Chile. With the Frozen Charge Shaker, there is no need to use water jets and jackhammers to remove a frozen charge. Downtime is reduced to a minimum. The Frozen Charge Shaker can be operated on the local control panel by a switch, pad-lockable in the off position.

Rolled back, the motor Then the motor stops again applies a and switches off. Author: countertorque. Timo Rösch [email protected]

17 MineralsFocus 1/2015 | Mining

Training Simulator All the benefits, none of the risks

Senior Sales Manager Stefano P. Scagliola spoke with MineralsFocus about the development and benefits of the Training Simulator for Gearless Mill Drives.

Stefano, could you please explain So that’s how the R&D project to de- integrated. The installed software is also what the Training Simulator is, and sign and develop the Training Simula- the same version as the one installed on how and why it came about? tor was initiated. In mid-2014, we test- the running GMDs. In order to simulate We got the idea to develop what is ed the first prototype. missing field signals, such as tempera- now the Training Simulator for Gear- The main goal of the Training Simu- ture sensors in the motor, we built in less Mill Drives (GMDs) some years lator is to replicate as closely as possi- some background interventions. ago. Customers approached us with ble the actual GMD system, including the request for an efficient way to all of the hardware and software. All What exactly does the simulator train their personnel on the automa- the main components of the electrical simulate? tion and drive control of their individu- system such as automation, drive con- With this system, customers can con- al system. Their requests were particu- trol, power system protection and duct a full simulation of all the opera- larly focused on ensuring long-term, power distribution are installed in the tions of the GMD. They can start and sustainable development and reten- Training Simulator. Even the GMD stop the mill and run it in all kinds of tion of knowledge within their teams. speed sensor with a small tacho disk is operational modes. It’s also possible to

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re-program the software and change parameters. This applies to any of the components installed in the simulator. It is a remarkably flexible system. A large part of the Training Simulator is dedicated to troubleshooting. The device allows trainers to generate specific errors, both in hardware and software, and simulate the most common problems that occur in a mill. This way, trainees have the chance to get familiar with all components and to practice their troubleshooting skills. A dedicated training plan covers all operation and maintenance activities and leads participants through all the training areas with specific exercises.

Some would say that they can train their employees on the job. So why should customers choose the Training Drive Engineer Markus Wenzeis instructs customers on the Training Simulator at Simulator in addition to typical class- the minerals headquarters in Erlangen. room training and on-the-job training? What are the advantages? Four reasons: highly customized training, efficient and flexible training, no- And, last but not least, the installed In the first model, customers can send risk learning, and one that may not be components on the simulator – such their personnel to our minerals train- obvious to most – emergency spare as the PLC CPU, drive controllers, the ing facilities either at the minerals parts stock. I’ll expand more on each Simatic PCS 7 server and the engineer- headquarters in Erlangen, Germany, or point. ing notebook – also function as addi- at our Minerals Service Center in San- First and foremost, the simulator lets tional emergency spare parts stock tiago de Chile, where they are trained trainees become familiar with the hard- that can be directly installed in the by Siemens experts on a standard ware components and software struc- actual system. Training Simulator. Alternatively, cus- ture. The components and the software tomers can procure the Training Simu- are identical to the ones used on a run- What are the long-term benefits of lator explicitly for their installed GMDs ning GMD. Trainees are not learning ge- the simulator? and train personnel directly on site. neric knowledge about some standard The GMD is one of the major potential We are seeing a huge increase in inter- components and software, they are bottlenecks in the entire mining pro- est for this second model. The Training learning about their system. cess. Every hour of downtime causes Simulator is perfectly suitable both for Second, personnel can do their huge losses in revenue. It’s important newly installed GMDs as well as for hands-on training when and where they that all personnel in the mine, from those with control systems that have need to. We can deliver the simulator operations to maintenance, become been modernized. to wherever it is required. Trainers can very familiar with this equipment. An added benefit is that our cus- vary the content and depth of the train- They should know how to react to tomers don’t have to lose key staff ing. And, if need be, training can be re- problems confidently, effectively and during training, because they can con- peated unlimited times to help build up as quickly as possible. This reduces duct the trainings as needed during skill and confidence levels. In times of shutdown to a minimum, which in normal operations. For some custom- increasing staff fluctuations, it’s a huge turn increases the already best-in- ers, especially those from smaller advantage for customers to be able to class availability of our GMDs. mines, it is difficult to send four to five maintain core knowledge within the people abroad at the same time for team, and get new personnel up to How can one best integrate the classroom training, because it causes speed quickly without additional Training Simulator into an overall a lot of trouble for resource and shift investment. training plan? planning. Here too, a Training Simulator Third, trainees can learn offline in a The Training Simulator is the new on site allows much more flexibility. Q relaxed environment. Simply put, our complementary module of the overall simulator provides an enriched training training plan for our GMD customers, experience with all the benefits and which already included typical class- none of the risks attached to conduct- room and on-site training. We current- Contact: ing exercises on live equipment or wait- ly offer two different training models Stefano P. Scagliola ing for the first real failure to practice. with the simulator to our customers. [email protected]

19 MineralsFocus 4/2015 | Mining

20 Mining | MineralsFocus 4/2015

Lower CO₂ emissions Over the years, Electric Power Industry of Serbia, Serbia’s power company, and Siemens have collaborated on a number of Cleaner coal projects. The latest under- taking between the two companies will reduce energy for CO₂ and thereby help Electric Power Industry of Serbia achieve targets for Serbia pollution prevention as set down in a EU Directive on industrial emissions.

n Serbia, coal means electricity, heating and economic develop- Iment. In this EU-candidate country, around 70% of electrical energy is produced by a few coal power plants rely- ing on uninterrupted supply from local lignite mines. The most significant set of mines are in the Kolubara basin. Spanning over 600 km², the basin also holds one of the largest lignite reserves in Europe. The mine provides coal for more than half of Serbia’s electricity production, playing a vital role in the country’s energy independence. The Kolubara mine currently lacks an online calorific analyzer, causing the quality of coal it delivers to power plants to be highly irregular. To optimize the coal burning process, power plants often have to add heavy fuel oil to the coal, resulting in higher harmful emission levels.

Project targets environmental improvement To improve the Kolubara mine’s operations and its environmental impact, Electric Power Industry of Serbia, the state-owned electric utility power company that operates the mine, initiated its Environment Improvement 3

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Kolubara mining basin

The Kolubara mining basin is owned by the state. The management and utilization of the mine is entrusted to Electric Power Industry of Serbia, the main verti- cally integrated energy company in Serbia. In 2013, 30.7 million tons of coal were excavated in Kolubara’s four operational open pit mines – Field B, Field D, Veliki Crljeni and Tamnava West Field.

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Two Sinamics complete drive systems with Simotics motors with a total power rating of 3 MW propel the 34-meter-high giant. The control system and all safety functions are based on Simatic S7. (Photos pp. 20–23 courtesy of Electric Power Industry of Serbia.)

3 Project in 2011. The venture involves has been contracted to implement for curred in May 2014 in Serbia. Roads introducing a coal quality-management Kolubara. “For years, Kolubara has been and bridges were damaged, and hun- system on open-pit mines in the west- successfully cooperating with Siemens. dreds of thousands of people were ern part of the Kolubara basin to ensure In fact, Siemens electrical equipment is forced from their homes. The total that coal from different fields is blend- present on the production systems in effect of the disaster was assessed at ed properly and is of uniform quality. all four active open-pit mines. The new circa €1.5 billion – a third of which Another important component of the and modern electrical equipment has fell to the mining and energy sector, project is the acquisition of a new exca- a significant impact on our technologi- which was hit hardest. Kolubara’s vator-conveyor-spreader system for cal process,” comments Milorad Grčić, largest coalfield, Tamnava West, was Field C in the east. For the first phase the Director of the Kolubara Mining flooded, leaving almost all of the of this project, Siemens will supply Basin. As early as November 2014, an mine’s production equipment sub- the complete electrical and automa- electrical and automation package for a merged under several meters of tion equipment for the 6,600 m³/h newly built bucket wheel excavator – water. “We immediately contacted excavator, which is being provided by BWE SchRs740L – was commissioned. Siemens for assistance in the process ThyssenKrupp. Siemens will also supply The SchRs740L excavator, with a capaci- of rehabilitating and revitalizing the electrical components for the spreader ty of 4,800 m³/h, was provided by equipment,” recalls Milorad Grčić. system. The system will help the mine Thyssen Krupp in cooperation with the The complete reconstruction of the increase production of higher calorific local subcontractor Kolubara Metal. electrical systems of the two flooded coal, which is important in yielding the Siemens completed the basic and de- bucket wheel excavators G1 and G4 right quality blend. tailed electric project design and deliv- was awarded to Siemens. With new equipment in place, opera- ered the complete electrical equip- These and the many other projects tors at Kolubara will be able to extract ment, as well as the design and Siemens has completed at the Koluba- resources more cleanly and efficiently, commissioning of the control software. ra mine are a display of the company’s and power plants can stop using liquid Controller S7-400F, with technological strength as a strategic partner in the fuel to compensate for low lignite quali- and control functions as well as safety fields of automation and drive tech- ty. The upgrade will reduce CO₂ emis- functions covering all running modes nology for mining. And of course, sions by an estimated 200,000 tons and of the machine, was utilized for the Siemens is also well positioned to con- help plant operators meet the stringent SchRs740L. The latest control and visu- tribute to similar capital projects in the emission limits set by EU Directive alization software, and HMI systems country. In fact, Siemens is confident 2010/75 on industrial emissions. based on Comfort Panels and the SCADA that many exciting projects are still to system WinCC, make the machine easy come in Serbia. Q Long-term cooperation to maintain and use.

Electric Power Industry of Serbia and Reconstruction after flooding Authors: Siemens enjoy a long-standing collabo- Marko Nikolic ration spanning decades, and the con- The partnership between Kolubara [email protected] tract described above is just one of and Siemens was strengthened after Petar Sainovic many modernization projects Siemens the floods and landslides that oc- [email protected]

23 MineralsFocus 4/2015 | Mining

Mine winders Master of all options

When electricity came to play an increasingly important role in the mining industry toward the end of the 19th century, Siemens was at the forefront. Following on from the first electrical mine railway in 1882, the first electric-powered mine winder was installed in a pit in the Ruhr area in 1904. Looking back on a track record of over 110 years, Siemens has supplied more than 800 electrical mine winders to the mining industry with an installed capacity in excess of 1,000,000 kW.

he first mine winch with a 29 kW liery Carl G. Falck in Bokwa, Germany. into operation at the colliery Zollern II electrical motor produced by These smaller hoisting machines were in 1903. This mine winder had payload TSiemens was installed in Transvaal the forerunners in the development of of 5,600 kg and a skip velocity of 20 in South Africa in 1896. The capacity a drive system for mine hoisting. Carl m/s. The 2 x 540 kW mine winder DC of that winch was 600 kg at 3 m/s rope Köttgen was the leading person in the motor from Siemens & Halske was speed. The mine winch was delivered development of mine hoist systems, used in the colliery for over a half cen- with a specially developed centrifugal and he made a great effort to obtain tury. Nowadays, the entire, fully func- governor to make the operation of the the Ilgner converter license for Siemens tional unit is one of Germany’s major winch easier and safer. In the same & Halske. The first electric mine winder industrial monuments. year, a mine winch with a 66 kW elec- motor developed by Siemens & Halske In the next 30 years, a DC drive with trical motor was delivered to the col- and fed by a Ilgner converter was put the Ilgner converter was the prevalent

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adapt to any environment. The Pulse- has a capacity of 3,000 kW and a Width-Modulation (PWM) converter winding speed of 14 m/min. The up- with water cooling for dynamic, regen- grade was completed as quickly as erative synchronous motors enables a possible during production downtime. higher torque. The converter is even To expedite the process, the hoisting able to operate during major power motor is delivered fully pre-installed in

Siemens’ technical achievements in mine winder technology: 1936 Implementation of a mercury vapor converter 1968 First thyristor-controlled mine hoist 1973 Implementation of the first electronic speed controller and signal pillar 1973 First SPS control system 1980 First reference of a variable transmitter on a microprocessor basis for jerk- limited acceleration and slowdown First mine hoist with a cycloconverter 1986 Implementation of a fully digital monitoring and control system First integrated mine winder engine 1990 First mine hoisting machine with adjustment of the jerk to the resonance frequency of the system for the prevention of rope vibration 1998 First remote control desk 2001 First mine hoisting machine with PLC-based control technology 2005 First mine winder with a synchronous motor with a PWM converter 2008 Multi-channel constant retardation brake system 2010 New economical control desk design 2012 Stand-alone digital supervision system

technology for bigger mine hoist sys- fluctuations. Whichever Simine Winder the sheave and mounted on the pre- tems. From the beginning, Siemens combination is selected, the solution assembled foundation. has been a pioneer in drive and con- contains the integrated Winder Tech- Recently, two of the four machines trol technology for mine winders. nology Control-Unit (WTC) based on with integrated 9,000 kW motors – the tried-and-tested Simatic S7 auto- the biggest ever supplied by Siemens Siemens – all bases covered mation system. – were installed in the colliery of Yitai Group in China. The extremely com- Today, shaft hoisting systems have Innovation built on 110 years pact design of the integrated hoisting evolved in regard to the type of motor machines designed by Siemag togeth- of experience (integrated in the rope sheave, or a er with Siemens will help the Yitai conventional layout with a lateral In the Tunliu mine in China, Siemens Group to reduce their investment costs synchronous or high-speed inductive installed two high-powered skip hoists when building the new colliery. motor) and the type of converter (PWM with synchronous motors, each with Siemens is prepared to support the converter, cyclo- or DC converter). an installed capacity of 4,000 kW, and mining industry with continuous tech- Siemens is one of the few suppliers feed Simowert ML II (PWM) converters. nical development – for example in worldwide that offers all possible com- This is the perfect system for mines regard to power quality, efficiency and binations of drive and converter in its with relatively poor power supply. network feedback – in order to explore Simine Winder product line. Compensation and filter units are not new horizons in mine hoisting tech- The integrated machine features required. nology. And for the future, Siemens a synchronous motor functioning as For the world’s largest nickel producer, is set to support the mining industry an external rotor installed in the drum MMC Norilsk Nickel, the mechanics with modern and reliable automation hoist. This has proven to be a success- and electrics of the two skip hoists solutions to achieve maximum safety ful model in many pits for over thirty were fully upgraded and automated. in mine operations. Q years; it is used in particular where The conventional hoist motors have a there is limited space in the engine capacity of 4,600 kW each and are fed rooms and where an even, symmetri- by Simovert D 12-pulse cycloconverters. cal load on all systems is required. If At the K+S KALI site in Hattorf, Ger- Authors: top performance at minimum expense many, Siemens replaced the old hoist Lilla Grossmann is the order of the day, then a cyclo- with a single-rope sheave with an inte- [email protected] converter is the ideal solution. Thanks grated motor. The machine, fed by a Roland Gebhard to its air-cooling function it is able to Simovert D 12-pulse cycloconverter, [email protected]

25 MineralsFocus 4/2015 | Mining

SAG mill drive system African mine gets a tailored solution

In 2011, Outotec invited Siemens to tender for a mill drive system to run an 8.3 MW SAG mill in Africa. The brief: supply a system that could operate reliably in a harsh environment, was easy to maintain, and could be accurately controlled within its operating parameters. In the end, Siemens came up with a solution that perfectly fulfilled these requirements.

hile the technology is avail- Dependable mill control of a challenge. Grinding mills, on the able to produce 8–9 MW other hand, are complex applications W via a single pinion, Outotec There are plenty of applications in the with a variety of variables and various decided to run this mill in a twin-pinion mining industry these days – such as auxiliaries – such as lubrication, braking configuration. The project scope encom- pumps, fans and conveyors – that apply and cooling systems – that require an passed all the equipment between variable-speed drive technology for engineered solution. The inherent high the 22 kV bus and the mill pinion, so either process control purposes or to inertia of the mill develops load torques Siemens tendered for the design, man- overcome high starting torques. Most of up to 150% of nominal torque during ufacture, factory test, packing accord- of the application-specific requirements startup and experiences dynamic load ing to ISPM 15, and delivery to Durban, have over the years been implemented changes during operation, which require South Africa, of a complete twin-pin- in the drive control via macros and an accurate and responsive yet sturdy ion, variable-speed mill drive. have become straightforward and less speed control system.

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20º 45º 60º The Mill Controller (MC) from Siemens with its specific software algorithms turns a standard Sinamics GM150 or GH180 Perfect Harmony Drive into a mill drive. In addition to on-the-fly Fro- zen Charge Detection, mill positioning and automatic balancing, the MC also ensures accurate load sharing (typically < 0.5% dynamic speed error) and con- In Frozen Charge ShakerTM mode, the motor first rotates the mill until the charge arrives at a trols smooth starting and stopping of safe angle above 45°. the mill. 45º

Mill drive system For this project, Siemens supplied an 8.3 MW mill drive system consisting of two air-cooled Sinamics GM150 drives and motors in a twin-pinion configuration. In order to inch and creep, the Counter- torque drives needed to be operated at speeds below 10 Hz for prolonged periods. In The mill is then left to roll back to 45°, where it is stopped abruptly by applying a countertorque general, IGBT-based MV drives have of 130%. The impact of the countertorque in the charge usually causes the charge to slip. If the less than 80% of the drive capacity charge continues to be attached to the mill shell, the process is repeated in the other direction. available if operated below 10 Hz, so the twin-pinion system had to be over- sized considerably. Despite an actual monitored. Under normal conditions, Key interlocking system load requirement of 8.3 MW for the the mill charge starts cascading above whole mill, the drives were sized to an angle of about 40–45° and the load As standard, the offered Sinamics deliver 10.1 MVA on each pinion con- torque decreases. In that case the mill GM150 comes with an electrical door tinuously – 20.2 MVA in total – offering completes a full quarter rotation to 90° interlock that inhibits access to the drive the necessary dynamic performance and and is then accelerated to nominal speed. as long as the DC bus voltage is above high overload rating (150% overload If the load torque keeps increasing 50 V. For this project, however, Outotec for 60 seconds at start) that can be past a mill angle of 75° to 80°, frozen had asked Siemens to implement an ad- expected from an SAG mill application. charge is very likely, and the mill is ditional layer of protection in the form stopped immediately to prevent the of a mechanical key interlocking system. Frozen Charge Detection and charge from dropping and causing One purpose of the system was to pre- damage to the mill shell and bearing vent access to the VVVF drives while Protection pads. To remove the charge, Siemens medium voltage is still present. This is After the start command, the mill is has a patented feature as part of the achieved through interlocking the drive first ramped up to “inspection speed” – MC – the Frozen Charge ShakerTM – cubicle doors with a key from the up- which is 10% of nominal speed – to per- which helps loosen the charge from stream CB. The other purpose of the sys- form on-the-fly Frozen Charge Detec- the mill shell. tem – which Outotec was very adamant tion. Maintaining inspection speed, about – was to ensure that the main mill load torque and mill angle are closely Controlled stop drive system cannot be started up while the inching drive on the gearbox is still After a stop command, the mill speed is engaged. For this, a key was mounted decelerated along a predefined ramp on the inching drive lever. The system delivered by until it has come to a complete stop. At Siemens to Outotec: this point, the charge is typically up on Summary one side of the mill and applies a nega- • 22 kV SF6 insulated NXPLUS C tive load torque on the brakes. Mill bal- The all-Siemens mill drive train was switchgear ancing slowly rolls the mill backwards executed as a total integrated package • 2 x 5500 kVA ONAN step-down until the charge reaches equilibrium and successfully commissioned to transformers and no load torque is present. Without Outotec and the end client’s full satis- • 2 x 4.15 MW (10.1 MVA) @ 4160 V a controlled stop, the mill would coast faction. Q VVVF Drives (Sinamics GM150) to stop, eventually ending up rocking to • 2 x 4.15 MW @ 4160 V SCIM either side causing unnecessary me- • 2 x MDSS01 single stage gear units chanical wear and tear, which can lead Author: to reduced equipment lifetime and in- Werner Kitz creased maintenance. [email protected]

27 MineralsFocus 4/2015 | Mining

Freeport mine in Papua, Indonesia Concept proves its value again

A solution for underground mining logistics featuring Simatic PCS 7 is being transferred from Sweden to Indonesia.

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Midroc Automation Midroc Automation is a part of Midroc Europe, which is a comprehensive partner in the areas of properties, construction, industry and environmental technology. The company’s goal is to make its customers more competitive and to contribute to a better future through the implementation of sustainable solutions and innovation. Midroc Auto- mation’s operations are international, with Sweden as its base. Siemens and Midroc Automation enjoy a partnership built on many years of cooperation. Midroc Automation is a Solution Part- ner for Simatic S7, Simatic HMI, Simatic NET Specialist, Simatic PCS 7 Special- ist, Process Instrumentation, Drives & Motion, and Drives and Motion Control for Cranes and Mining.

side from their remote locations, At the Kiruna mine, owned by room, to be housed in a three-story the Kiruna mine in northern Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB (LKAB), building with big screens. With the A Sweden and the Grasberg mine Simatic PCS 7 controls 7 locomotives Midroc Automation solution in place, in Papua, Indonesia, appear to have lit- with 21 ore wagons, each sized to Grasberg will become the world’s most tle in common. The Kiruna mine is 600 manage production of 35 million tons high-tech underground mining meters below sea level, Grasberg is high of ore per year. Simatic PCS 7 is also operation. in the mountains at over 4,000 meters connected to large monitors and over- So that the project in Indonesia above sea level. Kiruna is subjected to head contact systems, and it controls runs as smoothly as possibly, Midroc extreme winter temperatures, while in doors and gates for the process control Automation’s site manager in Papua is Grasberg the thermometer hovers system. For Grasberg, the scope is larger Anders Borssén, who was also the site around 25°C all year round. Iron ore is – to date, one and a half times larger manager in Kiruna. “It is a great expe- excavated in Kiruna, and in Grasberg it’s than Kiruna. Furthermore, the solution rience to be part of these two proj- gold and copper. One essential thing, requires adaptation to local conditions. ects,” he says. “The goal is to imple- however, that these two mines will By choosing a proven concept, Free- ment every new project in a better and soon share is Simatic PCS 7 from port-McMoRan will be able to minimize more efficient way than the last, and I Siemens for their distributed control production loss in the transition from already feel that we have taken the system (DCS) for underground open-pit to underground mining while next step in terms of our new project operations. still getting a reliable and safe facility here in Indonesia.” The Grasberg mine, owned by Free- with world-class productivity. So far, Midroc Automation’s contract port-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., con- at Grasberg is expected to be complet- tains the world’s largest gold deposit and Personnel safety a priority ed in 2017. Midroc Automation, how- third largest copper deposit. Until now ever, hopes to stay in the area for far the site has been mined as an open-pit Since the entire underground opera- longer by establishing a base in Indone- mine, but the open-pit mine cannot be tion is remotely controlled and delivers sia. Chances look good for further made any deeper and operations must ore via driverless trains, personnel Midroc Automation projects featuring now go underground. The mining com- safety is increased. Safety is also en- Simatic PCS 7 – not only in Asia but pany wanted a proven concept for its un- sured by Safety Matrix software from also in the rest of the world. Q der-the-surface operations, so manage- Siemens, which connects the ma- ment selected a total integrated logistics chines to the Simatic PCS 7 system. solution for underground ore transporta- The Safety Matrix itself is connected to tion, nearly identical to that which the failsafe input and output modules Author: Midroc Automation installed in the Kiru- and frequency inverters. Everything Christian Fischer na mine in Sweden. will be monitored from the control [email protected]

29 MineralsFocus 4/2015 | Mining

The use of Milltronics MMI belt scales in a coal mine Accuracy makes the difference

First put into use toward the end of the Industrial Revolution in the early 1900s, belt scales are one of the oldest process instruments in the world. Today, belt scales are still employed in a wide range of industrial applications, among them to weigh coal.

DF Suez is one of the leading not perform correctly, the power com- triple-beam-parallelogram-style design power producers in the world. pany may have to pay for more coal allows for direct load transmission G Among their many operations than was delivered. Furthermore, the from the idler. It is unaffected by is a coal-fired power plant located in plant also endeavors to optimize its shearing forces generated by start- Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The coal consumption of coal, ensuring that in- stop operation of off-track running. that fuels this plant comes by ship ventory amounts remain adequate so Because of the load cells’ fast re- from around the world and it is un- that the furnace can be continually sponse times, the MMI belt scales are loaded at the Mass-Waal Canal in Ni- fed. For both tasks, belt scale accuracy highly accurate, even when flow rates jmegen. A grab unloader lifts up to 50 and reliability are essential. fluctuate. They can be used on sys- tons of coal and deposits it in a hop- The company relies on technology tems with rates up to 12,000 tons per per. The coal is then moved onto a from Siemens for this critical task. hour (tph). In Nijmegen, coal is fed conveyor and transported to the stock- Siemens’ Milltronics MMI trade-ap- into the furnace at 220 tph. GDF Suez yard, where a stacker-reclaimer creates proved belt scales, which, combined technicians monitor the entire process stockpiles. Conveyor belts equipped with a Milltronics BW500 integrator – from unloading to storage, to feed- with belt scales then carry the coal and Sitrans WS300 speed sensor, pro- ing the furnace and beyond – from the into bunkers, where it awaits transport vide 0.25% accuracy. The MMI has a control room using the Simatic PCS 7 into the furnace. compact design that allows for short control system. An important aspect GDF Suez pays for each coal ship- idler spacing typically found on com- for belt scale accuracy and perfor- ment according to weight. If scales do pact conveyor belts. The load cell’s mance is regular calibration.

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Far left: Siemens Milltronics MMI trade-approved belt scale measures in- coming coal with an accuracy of 0.25%.

Left: With Siemens Simatic S7 control system, technicians monitor the entire power generation process from the comfort of the control room.

GDF Suez’s stacker-reclaimer creates stockpiles of coal after it is unloaded from ships in Nijmegen’s Maas-Waal Canal. The evolution of calibration

Since the introduction of belt scales, their design has evolved, with each design requiring a slightly different calibration technique. The first scales were mechanical devices that measured the total amount of material con- veyed. Their levers and gears were fairly difficult to set up and maintain. Once the load cell came into the picture, however, scales radically changed. Using electrical signals instead of pivots and bearings meant much simpler designs and configurations. New belt scales – similar to that of the Milltronics MSI and MMI from Siemens – directly load the cells with the weigh idler, ensuring that weight is supported by the cells instead of levers or springs. Capacity has also radically changed since the first scales: some mines now have flow rates of up to 20,000 tons per hour – an amount unheard of 100 years ago.

Choosing the right tool are recommended for applications likely that calibration at 25% to 40% requiring accuracy greater than 0.5%. will become the norm. Siemens offers various ways of cali- Electronic calibration has become pop- brating belt scales: weights, flat bar ular as the performance of load cells Timely as ever weights, high tolerance weights, man- has improved, but it is still typically ual and motorized weight lifter/stor- only used in non-critical processes. To ensure optimized material feed in age devices, test chains and chain Another important aspect is the fre- a power plant or other large-scale storage devices. The Milltronics quency of calibration. As a guideline, facility, it’s essential to have a solution BW500/L, Milltronics BW500, Siwarex belt scales should be zeroed at least that can manage the job. For over FTC, and Siwarex WP241 can also cali- once a week, though frequency may 100 years, belt scales have proven brate electronically. need to change depending on the their value in thousands of installa- The question often arises as to accuracy required. Furthermore, tions worldwide. To keep up accuracy which type of calibration technique to weights should undergo a span cali- and reliability, a suitable calibrating employ. Generally, weights are accept- bration at least once a month. approach has to be taken. Q able and achieve 0.5% accuracy, pro- Siemens recommends selecting viding that guidelines for installation weights with 25% to 60% of the de- are followed. Chains are a good alter- sign load. However, with today’s im- Author: native if a material test cannot be per- proved load cell linearization and loads Matt Morrissey formed to verify calibration, and they being directly applied to the cells, it is [email protected]

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As mineral ore qualities deteriorate, it has become necessary to excavate larger and larger quantities of ore. This, of course, means higher volumes to transport. To find the optimal solution, topology, transport volumes and distance must all be taken into careful consideration. Siemens offers a number of solutions, which have proven their value in countless installations.

32 Mining | MineralsFocus 4/2015

Bulk transport in mining Moving more with less

better infrastructure. At the same time, with dwindling ore content, more and more minerals must be excavated in order to cover the industry’s needs. As a consequence, an increasing volume of rock has to be transported over extensive distances from the extraction site to the processing plant. Looking into the future, conveying capacities of 40,000 tons per hour and above can be expected. The costs of logistics between a mining company’s sites can become a major factor for competitiveness, and one which should be taken into consideration right from the planning stages in mine construction. Naturally, every transport system has advantages and disadvantages, depending on a number of factors: the topology of the site, the distance to the deposits, the power supply, the environmental conditions, the regulatory frame- work, and not least of all the capacity required of the transport equipment and the properties of the bulk material. When selecting an appropriate transport system, further important criteria or centuries, mineral ores have higher into its mountains. Today mines include efficiency, availability, reliability, been mined at sites all across the are mostly in barren terrains, far from investment costs and operating costs. Fglobe. At first, these were pure ores civilization and infrastructure. At the moment there are a number of that could be simply found in the ground. The material excavated at these different systems on the market. In the But with time and the growing desire for mines generally has to travel long dis- end, they fit into one of two categories: more and more metals, the search has tances to processing sites, mostly built continuous transport or discontinuous gone deeper into the earth’s surface and in areas where there is more space and transport. 3

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3 Truck and truck-trolley operation

Trucks currently dominate the area of discontinuous transport, particularly in hard rock mines where transport with trucks is the most common method. To achieve higher capacities, there are basically three solutions: larger trucks, a greater number of trucks in the mine, or higher speeds. In regard to larger trucks, the tires would be the main limiting factor, as they can carry only a certain amount of weight. Conversely, a higher number of trucks could easily lead to congestion on busy road stretches. The best remedy, therefore, is a significantly higher transport speed. Today, trucks have either a purely mechanical design, typically up to 200 tons capacity, or are equipped with diesel-electric drives and have a capacity of up to 500 tons. Truck- trolley systems can offer valuable assistance by providing additional drive power, especially when going up steep ramps, where trucks without trolley support typically only travel at speeds of around 10 km/h. DC-powered overhead electric lines, such as those used by trams, provide the diesel-electric driven vehicles with the extra drive power. Higher speeds become possible, so more ore can be transported without having to increase the truck size or the number of trucks in the mine. As a rule of thumb, typically the speed of the trucks going uphill under trolley line operation almost Expert knowledge gained over doubles compared to non-trolley operation. And at the same, the diesel engine the years allows Siemens to only idles and reduces fuel consumption to almost zero. At the crusher or at the assess the individual needs of dump, the trucks can be operated flexi- bly without overhead lines. each location and suggest the Operators at the Lumwana mine in most suitable solution for the job. Zambia, which has a yearly production of almost 17,0000 tons of copper, chose the truck-trolley system for ore transportation. The chief driver for the Lumwana mine was optimization of CAPEX and in particular OPEX, because fuel and electricity are the main cost factors. Space trolley system can also be used outside as a patented trolley system that ensures considerations played a secondary role. the mine: While for long routes railway electricity supply over long distances. With the truck-trolley system the trucks transport is the mode of choice, for mid- were faster on ramps – to such an extent dle distances Siemens offers special Proven belt conveyor systems that truck fleet could be reduced. In the e-trucks with hybrid drive. These trucks end, by selecting this transportation con- can travel on any road that is equipped For continuous transportation, the key to cept CAPEX (the size of the truck fleet) with a two-wire catenary system. The moving more material is an increase in and OPEX (higher productivity, fuel sav- truck’s drive system consists of a diesel transport capacity through greater drive ings, less maintenance) could be reduced. engine with a generator and electric power. With more powerful drives, high- The same technology behind the truck- drive for independent running, as well er belt speeds and larger belt conveyor

34 Mining | MineralsFocus 4/2015

has been perfected, and it is now possi- ate generatively to feed energy back ble to achieve greater transport capaci- into the power supply. ties with increasingly powerful drive solutions. Siemens collaborated with A benchmark conveyor system ThyssenKrupp to develop direct drive systems for conventional conveyors, and The coarse ore conveyor system in direct drives can be designed up to 9 Minera Los Pelambres, Chile, commis- MW. Not only does this save space, it sioned in 1999, relies on conventional also increases availability thanks to few- belt conveyor technology. To this day, er mechanical components such as it is still considered the benchmark for bearings, gearboxes and couplings. Fur- downhill operating belt conveyor sys- thermore, these direct drive solutions tems. This belt conveyor transports cop- are better in efficiency. per ore from the mine at an elevation of The belt conveyor system with direct 3,200 m down to the processing plant drives at the Antapaccay Copper Mine in at 1,600 m. Initially designed to handle Peru transports ore from the mine to the 8,700 t/h, the system’s capacity has processing plant over a distance of 6.5 since been increased to transport km. The design parameters are 5,260 t/h 11,000 t/h. The installed drive capacity at a speed of 6.2 m/s. The system was of the three belts amounts to 25 MW, chosen because – at a similar invest- while approximately 18 MW of electric ment cost compared with a convention- energy is fed back into the power grid al geared conveyor solution – a series of at nominal belt load. mechanical and electrical components The operator selected continuous could be eliminated. Availability auto- conveyance, primarily due to the mine’s matically increases and less mainte- layout. Firstly, there was not enough nance is required. Furthermore, with a space for a processing plant at 3,200 m, direct drive system drive stations can be and secondly the logistical costs for con- built more compactly. The efficiency of structing and servicing the site were the entire system increases 3% to 4%, substantial. Another advantage of the since gear and other losses are elimi- solution is that electrical energy is gen- nated. Longer belt conveyor systems are erated while transporting the copper conceivable, and the number of drives ore, which allowed for a quick amortiza- and transfer stations can be reduced. tion of the investment costs.

Flexibility for all terrains Tailor-made solutions Aside from conventional belt conveyors, Siemens offers well-thought-out drive Siemens also offers solutions for pipe systems for all conveyor applications. conveyors and specialized belt systems. Mechanical construction is simple and Pipe conveyors take on fine to coarse robust, and the drives are combined bulk material like any conventional belt with modern converter technology as conveyor and then close into a circular well as proven automation and control. cross-section. These conveyors can han- The result is economical operation of dle fragment sizes of up to one-third of large conveyor systems that are able to the pipe’s diameter. The pipe conveyor transport larger and larger volumes of can deal with curves relatively well, and ore. Siemens’ first delivery to the mining it can be optimally adjusted to the topol- industry was a mine winder in 1903, ogy at the mining site. and since then the company has be- In the cable belt system, a belt is sus- come a trusted partner of the mining pended between two cables, which are industry. Expert knowledge gained over systems, more bulk material can be driven by pulleys. This system is well the years allows Siemens to assess the moved. A number of tried-and-tested suited for covering long, curved routes. individual needs of each location and belt conveyor systems are available to Finally, the RopeCon system combines suggest the most suitable solution for transport bulk material over varying ele- cable pulley technology with a belt con- the job. Q vations and distances. The most common veyor solution. This model is suitable for system is the conventional belt conveyor. major changes in elevation and unpass- Conventional belt conveyors are to able sites. It requires few support bases be found wherever large material flows and can convey high flow rates. During Author: have to be transported over long dis- downhill motion from the pit to the Norbert Becker tances. The technology for these systems dropping point, both systems can oper- [email protected]

35 MineralsFocus 4/2015 | Mining

Energy efficiency, retrofitting and financing Maximum efficiency with minimum risk

Energy Performance Contracting is the intelligent way to realize energy efficiency projects.

s energy costs rise and environ- assets retain their value during the achieve considerable savings in this mental standards become ever stipulated period and beyond. area in a short period of time. Savings A stricter, cement factories are In initial applications in industrial potential is particularly high in long- increasingly interested in tapping en- settings, Energy Performance Con- serving ancillary units such as pumps ergy-saving potential. With Energy tracting has already proven to be an and ventilators. Simply reducing the Performance Contracting from effective instrument for ensuring envi- drive speed can result in considerable Siemens, operators can now finance ronmental protection and operating energy savings. A further option is to re- all measures required with the savings efficiency, while safeguarding the fu- place old motors with new, high-effi- achieved. ture of a business location – a win-win ciency IE2 or IE3 motors. Siemens’ expe- Producing cement clinker is an en- situation for all concerned. rience in industrial projects shows that ergy-intensive process. On the one this can secure savings of up to 30%. hand, there is the large carbon foot- Transparency trumps print, which will incur additional costs Steps to profitable savings in the future under the global emis- A central element of Energy Perfor- sions trading system. On the other mance Contracting is the transparency To get an idea of the modernization and hand, energy costs are high – and ris- it offers concerning the anticipated financing measures required, Siemens ing continually. It is therefore all the savings. The contracting installment experts first of all complete an assess- more important to exploit energy-sav- is paid out of the energy savings ment of the plant based on data providing potential through targeted mod- achieved in subsequent plant opera- ed and a site inspection. This gives an ernization and optimization in order to tions. To reduce project risks, the mod- initial overview of energy consumption reduce operational costs. Plant man- el comprises three stages: identifying and of the actual energy costs. Using agers face the challenges of securing the main consumers, defining the po- this information, an optimization plan is advance financing and risking a bad tential, and decisions/realization. If compiled as part of an overall energy investment. An answer to these chal- during the preparatory phase the an- assessment. This suggestion takes into lenges is Energy Performance Con- ticipated energy and cost savings are consideration the maximum acceptable tracting. The customer does not re- determined to be infeasible, the cus- amortization period and determines quire an investment budget to realize tomer is entitled to terminate the proj- how high the contracting installments their project, and the installments ect before the implementation phase can be while still ensuring the minimum agreed upon in the contract are paid free of charge. savings desired. The results are used to off from the savings achieved. In addi- The drive technology in a cement draft a preliminary contract for the en- tion, the modernized facilities undergo factory consumes over 90% of electri- ergy performance scheme. regular inspections throughout the du- cal energy used in all applications. For In a second phase, a precise analysis ration of the contract, which ensures this reason, it is generally possible to and evaluation of current energy con-

36 Mining | MineralsFocus 4/2015

sumption is performed. This involves, targets are not met, Siemens offers a duced. Siemens handles everything for example, checking data for the list lump-sum compensation payment. from identifying energy-saving poten- of motors on site and verifying it with Otherwise, this point marks the begin- tial and project realization all the way measurements. This step makes it possi- ning of the repayment period for the to servicing to retain asset value ble to detect inefficient drives and to installments set down in the contract. during the contract period. The ser- develop appropriate optimization mea- vice agreement allows for an annual sures. A clearly defined energy-saving Planning, implementation inspection of the new drive applica- concept then forms the basis for the tions as standard, although this can and financing – all from main service level agreement for the be extended according to customer energy-saving project. a single source requirements. Q Once the contract has been signed, A particular advantage for the plant the third project phase begins and the operator is that the project is imple- technical optimization measures are mented entirely by Siemens, with all carried out. At the final inspection, the services provided from a single Author: actual savings achieved by the project source. The work involved in coordi- Oliver Langhammer are measured and compared with the nating technical requirements and [email protected] baseline situation. If the agreed-upon business interests is significantly re- Link: www.siemens.com/enpc

37 MineralsFocus 4/2015 | Mining

Raising mine competitiveness Siemens: A partner for African mines

As a leading provider of efficient equipment to mining companies in Africa, Siemens South Africa offers a solution portfolio tailored to the region’s needs. Whether for energy infrastructure or automation, Siemens engineers view the product development and production chain as a whole.

frica is well endowed with min- nent’s greatest challenges. For Siemens, opportunities for power supply projects eral resources: the continent this spells a big number of opportunities. like this one, contracts involving auto- A possesses the world’s largest In Tanzania, for example, Barrick Af- mation are on the rise. mineral reserves of platinum, gold, rica operates three gold mines in re- The Lumwana Copper Mine in Zam- diamonds, chromite, manganese and mote areas, reasonably far from power bia relies on Siemens for all of its elec- vanadium. Siemens has a proven track sources. When Siemens was called it to trical equipment, including automa- record in Africa’s mining sector. And evaluate the situation, engineers found tion. “Africa is a challenging place to currently, some of the most exciting the main power supply quality to be ex- operate,” says Zane Berry, the Superin- projects are being completed by tremely poor. The mines relied greatly tendent of the Lumwana Mining Com- Siemens South Africa, which is respon- on diesel engines for power genera- pany. “Therefore, mines need the most sible for countries in Southern and tion, which represented huge overhead reliable solutions available.” A high- Eastern Africa. costs. Siemens installed a new 120 km light at the mine is the truck-trolley In general, with the exception of long 132 kV line with static VAR com- system: Siemens provided the electrics South Africa, many African countries pensators to improve quality at Barrick’s for 28 Hitachi 250-ton mining trucks, have poor road and power infrastruc- North Mara site. A 120 km, 220 kV line including the electrical variable speed ture. In fact, providing adequate sup- was also laid for the Buzwagi site. drives as well as the electric wheel mo- plies of electricity is one of the conti- Though at the moment there are more tors, each rated at 2MW. Siemens also

38 Mining | MineralsFocus 4/2015

A longtime partner in South Africa

Siemens’ first mining project in South Africa commenced in 1867 and involved electrical locomotives for the Transvaal Mining Estate in Pilgrim’s Rest. Today the focus is on helping mining operators reduce downtime and increase profits.

Training tomorrow’s engineers

Siemens gives back to local communities. The Mandela School of Science and Technology in Mvezo village, South Africa, was built by Siemens at a cost of €10 million, making it one of the company’s biggest-ever social investments. The school opened its doors in January 2014. The building is a beacon of progress, featuring renewable energy sources, energy-efficient lighting, automation systems, rainwater capture and water filtration technologies. As many as 700 young people from Mvezo village – the birthplace of Nelson Mandela – and the surrounding area are being educated at the school. The focus is on engineering, science, technology and agriculture.

supplied the overhead trolley lines throughout the software. Online mon- nomic growth in Africa. As the exam- that supply 4 MW of electric power per itoring made possible by Simatic PCS 7 ples above show, Siemens South Africa truck and enable the vehicles to climb is also profiting operations at Isibonelo is in a position to support mines with out of the growing open pit at speeds Colliery, Anglo American’s latest open- all of their electrical and automation of up to 24 km/h. pit coal operation around 120 km east needs. The portfolio covers every- of Johannesburg. “The automated sys- thing, from extraction and transporta- Automation lowers downtime tem from Siemens helped us reduce tion to beneficiation and secondary our costs because we have one opera- processing. To increase productivity, Anglo American uses Simatic PCS 7 from tional controller who can see the Siemens looks at the entire value Siemens at many of it coal plants. One whole plant at one time, instead of chain. Q such plant is Dalyshope in South Africa. twelve people at a time taking care of In this instance, Siemens answered different parts of the system,” says the question of how to control a plant James Morotoba, Mine Manager at the remotely with out using the conven- Isibonelo Colliery. Technicians are im- tional communication system, thereby pressed with the system, especially be- Author: lowering downtime. Standard soft- cause it is easy to understand and use. Jaco Taljaard ware blocks were developed and used Mining is an important factor for eco- [email protected]

39 MineralsFocus 4/2015 | Cement

Cemat: the leading process control system for the cement industry 40 years in service – and still as innovative as ever

40 Cement | MineralsFocus 4/2015

The greatest challenge for the cement industry is to maintain competitive production costs, despite tighter caps on emissions and rising energy prices. For over four decades, the integrated process control system Cemat has helped the industry face this challenge. The standard software from Siemens now plays a decisive role on all company levels in the cement industry, and at all stages of the production process.

emat’s story of success began cement manufacturers with a modern out the production process, and over 40 years ago, with a first control system that is tailored to re- enables consistent data management, C version based on the then new- spond to the industry’s key concerns. standardized operating and monitor- ly developed programmable logic con- These include: optimization of producing, as well as consistent engineering troller Simatic S3. The system was first tion, process and plant performance, in distributed automation structures. installed in Cementos Hispania’s cement and transparent quality and produc- works in Yeles, Spain. The technical tion control. Cemat provides access to 40 years of Cemat department at Dyckerhoff Group, which all relevant production data in cement Cementos Hispania belonged to at the manufacturing at a glance and in real Cemat now also includes the Minerals time, planned the control system and time. The control system therefore Automation Standard (MinAS) as an programed the control units. The plant offers plant operators invaluable help industry-specific library. “This marks was commissioned in fall 1974, with in optimizing production capacities in a new chapter in Cemat’s story of suc- support from Siemens. The installation their cement works. A further advan- cess, as it now caters to both the was comprised of four Simatic S30 tage of Cemat is its integrated opera- cement and mining industries,” explains programmable logic controllers, and tional and diagnosis functions, which Johannes Vorsamer, Automation Ex- back then the first Siemens PLC was minimize downtime by detecting pert for Mining/Cement for PD Process as big as a cabinet, stuffed full of elec- potential faults sooner. Automation. “And because our process tronics and magnetic core memory The simple scalability of Simatic PCS control system has always used stan- units. 7 in terms of system size, functionality dardized hardware and software, it and performance ensures the optimum also offers the utmost degree of reli- Step-by-step improvement design for each process area. This ex- ability for the entire industry. These ceptional scalability also offers plenty are major advantages over other solu- Over time, as the technology devel- of space for later expansion – whether tions.” After all, the lifecycle of a oped, the software and hardware plat- for individual machines such as crush- cement plant is much longer than forms were replaced by the subsequent ers, mills and conveyor belts with local the life span of any single version of models Simatic S5 and Simatic S7. operating and monitoring, or for com- a control system. For this reason, the Although the standard modules for plex networked systems with central best strategy when developing a con- drives, dampers, groups and more de- operating and monitoring at a produc- trol system is to stay innovative. veloped for the first version of Cemat tion location, such as a processing Cemat is future-proof and, with were updated from version to version plant or a complete storage area. constant innovation, guarantees com- over the years, the module’s organi- Cemat features integrated technol- patibility with older versions. The lat- zation and its core functions have re- ogy interfaces that can connect, for est version, for example, is still com- mained unchanged. With its innova- example, the Motor Control Center patible with all previous versions back tive and forward-looking technology, (MCC) and drives, energy switchgear as far as Version 1.8 installed in 1978. Cemat now supports all leading based on IEC 61850, and intelligent This means older PLC programs can cement plants. With over 800 installa- process instrumentation. These may still be run and integrated into the lat- tions worldwide, the system has be- be either Siemens devices or systems est version of the process control sys- come the leading process control from other providers. Consistent com- tem. It is even possible to migrate to system for the cement and mining munication via bus systems such as the current and future versions with- industries, and for related industry Profibus/Profinet connects existing out difficulty. This saves money when branches. For decades, major compa- automation islands and links them investing in new plant technology or nies such as Holcim, Lafarge und with the control level. Products and carrying out system upgrades. Q HeidelbergCement have used the sys- systems can be incorporated reliably tem – increasingly as a company- into the automation from any distance wide platform. via communication-enabled devices, Contact: Cemat Version 8.1, based on Simatic switches and connection modules. [email protected] PCS 7, is now available, providing This increases transparency through- www.siemens.com/cemat

41 MineralsFocus 4/2015 | Cement

Cemat: the leading process control system for the cement industry First-choice automation

The cement industry depends on Cemat – whether for new lines or to update previous versions. Some worldwide references where Cemat is implemented:

European technology technology a musta must A new cement line in Benin is one of a tight schedule, the crusher, cement with a redundant plant bus the latest greenfield projects to include mills and packing facility were commis- • Over 1,000 ET200 I/O cards for Cemat. The line belongs to Senegal- sioned in November 2013. In July around 14,000 signals based Les Ciments du Sahel; the com- 2014, the rotary kiln was commis- • Data archival and reporting with pany in charge of construction was sioned. Repeatedly, Sinoma CMBI Sicement MIS Sinoma CBMI of China. The end cus- stressed Siemens’ professional and suc- • Kiln control system (KCS) tomer specified that it wanted to use cessful project execution. Les Ciments • Cemat software engineering for the European technology, leading to the du Sahel is planning a second line in entire plant involvement of many well-known me- Benin, which very well may serve as • Comprehensive Simatic PCS 7 and Cemat chanical and electrical suppliers in the another opportunity for Siemens to training project. The line operator chose Cemat demonstrate the capabilities of Cemat. • Four-week factory acceptance test based on the consistency of Simatic The Siemens scope of delivery: for software including simulation PCS 7 as well as Siemens’ dedication to • Around 80 automation cabinets • Commissioning over a period of high quality and expert support. Under • Eight Simatic S7-400 control units eight months

42 Cement | MineralsFocus 4/2015

Smart Smart replacementreplacement Asia Cement Co., Ltd. is one of the largest manufacturing cement and ready- Les Ciments du Sahel chose mixed concrete companies in South Korea. Asia Cement’s Jecheon plant, Cemat based on the consistency established 40 years ago, has under- gone a number of updates over the of Simatic PCS 7 as well as years. As early as the 1990s, in several phases Siemens installed the automa- Siemens’ dedication to high tion system in the Jecheon Plant using quality and expert support. Simatic S5 equipment and Cemat V4. Now, on a step-by-step basis until 2018, Siemens is upgrading the complete process automation system to Cemat V8.1. The overall plant configuration is relatively complex: it consists of production units for three kiln lines including four Expansion Operators’ choice gets Siemens technology raw mills, three coal mills and seven cement mills, all running on the same Kipaş Holding is one of Turkey’s 2014 the cement and packaging network with a total count of approxi- fastest growing companies with in- line commenced operation. The mately 21,000 I/O signals. Though the vestments in paper, energy, textiles last unit of the roller press went system has been in operation without and cement. As the Turkish cement into service in April 2014. The any problems, the upgrade has become industry becomes an exporter, par- compete electrical packages for necessary due to obsolete spare parts, ticularly to countries in West Africa, line two were supplied by Siemens, the customer’s plan for a future expan- capacities are being increased. including the drive systems and sion in I/O counts, and limited network The KÇS (Kahramanmaraş Çimento Cemat for fully automated plant transmission rates as a result of the Sanayi) plant in southeastern Tur- operation. For the future, KÇS has high number of signals. key has therefore been expanded to the option of replacing the auto- The first phase is the upgrade of include a second line: clinker pro- mation system on the first line – the existing control system of Kiln No. 1 duction on the new line started in which started operation in 2008 – and Raw Mill No. 4 to Cemat V8.1. The October 2013, and in February with Cemat. network infrastructure is being renewed in such a way that the existing communication philosophy remains unchanged and the new Simatic PCS 7 and the re- Basic figures for the second line maining S5 control systems communi- Project period 24 months cate with each other on the same bus. The Siemens scope of delivery: Installation and comm. period 12 months • One redundant server pair Installation and comm. at site 36 man-years • An engineering station • Three operator workstations Cable installed 350 km • Management and Information Cable tray installed 14 km System (MIS) Sivacon S8 panels 300 • Two sets of PCS 7 AS 410S units • I/O modules for approximately 6.3kV NXAir and 33kV 8BT2 panels 41 3,300 signals LV-MV G150 drives 18 • Fiber-optic cables and network equipment LV MV motors (total 500 pcs at factory) 33 • Engineering and project manage - Main transformers (33/6,3kV–31.5 MVA) 1 ment, testing and commissioning, also on site Q Dist. and drive transf. (6,3 / 2,2 / 0,4 kV) 14

Lighting armatures 1,000 Authors: PLCs (PCS 7 with Cemat V7.1) 6 Savas Sezen [email protected] Redundant, MIS and WEB servers 4 Fikret Ozer Operator stations 6 [email protected] Stefan Saalbach I/O HW signals 5,000 [email protected]

43 MineralsFocus 4/2015 | Cement

With its narrow 4-degree beam, Sitrans LR560 (A) can measure material even in a silo’s cone area, unlike radar transmitters with wider beams (B). It also doesn’t experience the maintenance issues of contacting technologies (C).

Sitrans LR560 Solid performance for solids measurement

tanding at the top of a 28-meter cement each year. Efficient production material. The pass is 80 meters high silo, Thomas Baptista unzips his requires accurate and reliable knowl- and fairly narrow, and its walls are not Sbackpack. The backpack contains edge of raw materials such as lime- straight, making it hard to measure ma- a Sitrans LR560 radar transmitter for stone, bonemeal and iron sulfate, terial inside. To ensure continuous oper- solids level measurement – and it’s a among others. However, taking mea- ation of the 24/7 plant, it’s important backpack that has seen a lot of use surements is not always easy. to ensure that enough limestone is in lately. Baptista, who works in the the pass at all times. Reliable inventory MSR (Measurement/System/Control) Reliable level measurement management is key. An inaccurate read- department at Holcim Zementwerk ing – one indicating a high level of lime- Untervaz, is installing his sixth high- Holcim’s quarry features a limestone stone when it is actually low, for example frequency radar on the company’s pass, basically a vertical shaft through – can cause costly delays in production. solids material silos. the mountain. The pass is filled with The previous radar transmitter used Holcim Zementwerk Untervaz crushed limestone that acts as a buffer to measure the materials had difficulties produces 800,000 tons of Portland to ensure the continuous feed of raw with these walls, and operators had

44 Cement | MineralsFocus 4/2015

to aim the device so that it pointed radar transmitter proved to be the so- performance. Finally, before Sitrans at material without reflecting off the lution. It could be installed and set up LR560 was installed in the dry sewage sides of the pass. After trading this in a matter of minutes, thanks to sludge silo, a low-frequency radar transmitter in for the Sitrans LR560, Quick Start Wizard. Now, no buildup transmitter had been used to measure Holcim immediately saw a difference plagues this device, and technicians the level of dry sludge, a device that in the quality of the measurement. do not need to spend any time clean- had to be cleaned every two months. The narrow beam is well suited for ing it. “Sitrans LR560 works on applica- The Sitrans LR560 has been in use for complex geometry such as that found tions where previously we couldn’t over six months, without ever needing in the limestone pass, and it provides find anything else that would operate a cleaning. reliable and accurate level readings. reliably,” explains Baptista. Holcim also stores bonemeal, an Other areas in the Holcim cement Shorter, higher frequency alternative source of energy for ce- works profiting from Sitrans LR560 wavelengths ment production, in a 10-meter high include the finished cement silos, the steel silo. This environmentally sus- iron sulfate silo and the dry sewage The Sitrans LR560’s operation in diffi- tainable fuel source is used in the sludge silo. These application areas cult applications can be related to a cement kiln, the area that consumes also speak for the device’s flexibility: game of billiards: the angle of inci- the most energy in the production For the cement silos, Sitrans LR560’s dence equals the angle of reflection, process. At first, Holcim used guided narrow beam works well in the very meaning that the angle with which wave radar to measure the level of narrow spaces where previously, due the ball hits a surface (angle of inci- bonemeal in the silo. However, build- to its dusty, sticky environment, only dence) is the same as the angle with up would collect on the transmitter manual measurements in the form of which it is redirected (angle of reflec- cable. And if the device was not cleaned an operator lowering a rope into the tion). The same applies to a wave from regularly, the reading would show silo to read the level were possible. a measuring device when it hits the higher-than-actual levels. If not moni- Now, with Sitrans LR560, measure- sloped surface of a solid material. tored properly, there was the risk that ments are more accurate than ever What Siemens developers have noticed the bonemeal would run out. Here before, because the conditions in the while working with radar is that higher too, the Sitrans LR560 non-contacting silo do not affect the transmitter’s frequencies create better reflections. This is especially true for smooth sur- faces and materials with small particle sizes, such as fine sand. The standard ultrasonic or radar The Sitrans LR560 has proven its value in a transmitter from well-known instrumentation suppliers in the marketplace number of applications at the Holcim cement usually contains an aiming device, factory in Untervaz, Switzerland, where it is which is needed to improve the signal used for reliable solids level measurement. quality. However, as the Sitrans uses 78 GHz with a very short (4 mm) wave- Quick installation, the ability to withstand length, its reflection properties are sig- dust and sticky environments, and insensitiv- nificantly better than other devices. This has eliminated the need for aiming ity to buildup are just some of the device’s the sensor, resulting in significant sav- many advantages. ings in the installation. Baptista and his colleagues are im- pressed with the Sitrans LR560. It simplifies the job of measuring limestone, bonemeal and other materials at Hol- cim Zementwerk Untervaz. As a result, staff can concentrate on other tasks. The Sitrans LR560 is an easy-to-install, accurate, reliable radar transmitter for a world of applications – quite a bit to fit into one backpack. Q

Small in size, big in performance: the Sitrans LR560 can be Author: easily installed on Mark Yseboodt any available nozzle. [email protected]

45 MineralsFocus 4/2015 | Cement

MultipleDrive for optimum plant availability and productivity Not just larger, higher reliability and availability too

Siemens has collaborated with Gebr. Pfeiffer SE, a renowned manufacturer of processing plants, to develop the new Flender MultipleDrive drive system for cement mills. At a plant in Brazil owned by cement manufacturer Holcim, the system will soon be driving the world’s most powerful vertical mill. The solution ensures optimized availability and productivity.

46 Cement | MineralsFocus 4/2015

ith the addition of a new Pfeiffer–Siemens team developed the Hoffmann, Head of Drive Applications MVR vertical mill, Holcim will Flender MultipleDrive concept. Between at Siemens. In addition to this, the W greatly increase production two and six identical drive units, each Flender MultipleDrive concept has also capacity at its Barroso plant in the Bra- with an installed drive power of up to enabled cost savings of 25% on average zilian state of Minas Gerais. The com- 2,100 kW, drive the grinding table via for machines, structural engineering, pany was looking for a milling and a girth gear located beneath the table. electrical equipment and infrastructure, drive concept that would guarantee The decentralized design means it is as well as significant time savings. high throughput rates, exceptional reli- possible to apply even more powerful ability, and as little downtime and loss drive units if required. This enables a Siemens as a system supplier of production as possible. However, system design with a drive capacity of because the throughput rate depends currently up to 16,500 kW. Previously, Siemens supplies all components of on the torque applied, it is not possible the mechanical limit for conventional the drive train: the gear unit, coupling to simply increase the size of a conven- plants was 8,000 kW. and the oil supply system, as well as tional planetary gear unit as required. electric motors and frequency convert- A solution is to apply force across the A new concept for more ers. The main components in the entire girth gear. To achieve this, a MultipleDrive are Sinamics G150 fre- power quency converters and Flender gear At the Barroso plant, six drives will modules consisting of an H-compact apply a total power of 11,500 kW to PLUS electric motor, ELPEX-EFG electri- the girth gear. Each drive unit consists cal insulating coupling, a KMRS gear of an electric motor, a coupling, and unit, an OWGS oil supply system, MTL a combined spur and bevel gear unit grinding table bearings and an OWGM mounted on a base frame to form oil supply system. a transport unit. The unit is also The mill in Brazil will be fully inte- equipped with a frequency converter, grated into the Simatic S7-300 plant a transformer and an oil supply sta- control system. A maintenance tool tion. The load distribution to the indi- will monitor the mill’s maintenance vidual electric motors is performed status: Sensors on the motors, drives by a primary control system through and mill bases will supply data on tem- frequency converters associated with perature, speed, torque and vibration. each drive unit. This has the effect This data will make it possible to detect of minimizing torque peaks. faults at an early stage and plan spare- The drive units are installed on part procurement. mounts around the milling table, off- set at 120 degrees in a radial arrange- Operating experience ment. This is a handy design for maintenance, as the units can be swung What tipped the scales in favor of out from the mill for repair work with- the Flender MultipleDrive for the new out any major disruption to operations. MVR vertical mill at Holcim’s Barroso The mill can still continue to operate plant was Pfeiffer SE and Siemens’ regardless. For Holcim in Brazil, this positive experiences with an MPS mill means that the mill’s capacity is still with MultipleDrive in France and MVR significantly more than 80% of the mills in India and Australia. A modular nominal grinding capacity. structure, standardization and active The frequency converters adapt the redundancy make it possible to speed to suit the requirements of the achieve throughput rates of up to various mill feeds. Results show that 12,000 tons per day with a single mill the mill can be operated with just one solution. Initial operating figures for single set of parameters for milling raw material grinding have shown both blast furnace slag and clinker. very low specific wear and excellent The mill grinds various blended cement performance after a qualities with clinker proportions of total of 35,000 operating hours in up to 90% and slag proportions of up already existing installations, while all to 65% to product fineness degrees of design assumptions and maintenance 4,000–4,800 cm²/g according to Blaine. concepts have been verified. Q “Thanks to the modular design of the drive train, a system can deliver previously unattainable performance Author: ratings and offer far greater efficiency Dirk Mensing and availability,” says Dr. Bernhard [email protected]

47 MineralsFocus 4/2015 | Cement

Cement expertise from Siemens India

With the gigantic cement market in India, Siemens India has Riding grown into a veritable expert for cement projects. What’s more, this expertise is also the being exported to the country’s neighbors as well as to other Asian, African and Middle wave Eastern markets.

ndia is the world’s second-largest cement producer. In 2013, the total Iproduction was 251 million tons – though with the installed capacity, 366 million tons per annum (MTPA) is possible. Considering the ever-increasing demand of cement for infrastructure projects and the housing sector, and the major thrust and focus of the new government on infrastructure projects to boost economic growth, the installed production capacity is expected to increase substantially to 550 MTPA by the year 2020. This presents a big opportunity for Siemens India to leverage its K.C. Sharma, Vice President E & I Projects at UltraTech Cement, accepts the strengths. 100,000th motor from Dirk Hoke, CEO of Siemens’ Large Drives Division. Siemens started partnering with the Indian cement industry in the 1980s – a partnership that continues today. Solutions from Siemens cover electrical, automation, drive and instrumentation systems, whereas multiple product ranges cater Above: Siemens supplied an electrical and automation to all factory needs: automation, drives, package for Wonder Cement’s greenfield installation in Rajasthan. Pictured here is the kiln section. power generation and power distribution as well as building system engineer- Right: The pre-heater at Wonder Cement in Rajasthan. ing. The range of offerings available Thanks to the electrical and automation package, from Siemens India for cement plants Wonder Cement reports stable production processes.

48 Cement | MineralsFocus 4/2015

covers individual standalone products stone with the delivery of its 100,000th all the way to comprehensive end-to- IE motor to UltraTech Cement in Mum- end electrical and automation solutions. bai. Since the launch of these motors Aside from serving cement produc- in January 2012, energy savings have ers in India, Siemens India also exports amounted to 300 GWh, which is equiv- its expertise for projects around the alent to the power required by 80,000 Indian subcontinent and in the Asian, average Indian households for an African and Middle Eastern markets. entire year.

Siemens India

Siemens’ first project in India dates back to 1867, when founder Werner von Siemens started building a telegraph line from London to Kolkata. At the time, the 11,000 km line was the one of the fastest and most reliable telegraph links in the world. The business expanded over the years, with the production of switchgear, motors and electronic equipment commencing in 1960, 1966 and 1987, respectively. Today, Siemens in India has a sales and service network that spans across the entire country and includes 23 manufacturing plants, 8 centers of competence and 11 R&D centers. Currently, 18,500 people work for Siemens India, and every year around 200 graduate engineers join the company’s ranks.

The following projects show the range Wonder Cement of expertise delivered by Siemens India in the cement business: Siemens supplied an electrical and automation package for a 6,500 TPD UltraTech Cement greenfield cement plant in Rajasthan, India, between 2011 and 2013. The Between 2011 and 2014, Siemens India customer Wonder Cement has since completed a number of projects for reported higher efficiency as a result UltraTech Cement, the largest cement of more stable production processes. manufacturer in India. Power distribu- Quality could also be improved thanks tion packages were supplied and exe- to well-balanced sintering conditions. cuted for the 10,000 ton-per-day (TPD) The lifetime of the refractory and plants at the company’s Rajashree equipment was also extended. A fur- Cement Works (Line IV) and Rawan ther advantage is that emissions could Cement Works (Line II), and Captive be lowered. Siemens India has since Power Plants 3 and 4 were constructed received a new project order from for the Andhra Pradesh Cement Works. Wonder Cement for the supply of an In the same time period, UltraTech electrical and automation package for Cement commissioned Siemens to sup- a new 7,000 TPD plant at same loca- ply and execute two power distribution tion. The project is presently under systems for brownfield clinker grinding execution. Q units at UltraTech’s Jharsuguda Cement Works and Hotgi Cement Works. A further order was filled for an automation package for a 10,000 TPD plant at the Contact: Rawan Cement Works (Lines I & II). TD Parameswaran Siemens India achieved another mile- [email protected]

49 MineralsFocus 4/2015 | Awards & Fairs | Dialogue

If you are interested in receiving a sample copy of MineralsFocus, or if you would like to order a free subscription, please send an e-mail to [email protected]. Our magazine is also available as an ePaper. The current version can be accessed at www.siemens.com/mineralsfocus. You may also order the print version at that link.

Workshop on the Australian mining industry

At the end of March, the Australian Embassy in Berlin hosted a two-day workshop entitled “The Future of Mining in Australia.” Event organizers were the German Federation of International Mining and Mineral Resources, the German-Australian Chamber of Industry & Commerce, and the Australian Trade Commission. Siemens was represented at the workshop through presen- tations focusing on minerals, rail automation and rail electrifi- cation. Participants even had the opportunity to tour Siemens Mobility’s eHighway test track north of Berlin where diesel hybrid trucks run on overhead electric wires.

Share your thoughts

We want to know what you, our readers, think about MineralsFocus. In this issue you will find a survey to fill out and send back to us. Alternatively, you can fill out the survey at Dr. Roland Grafe from Siemens www.siemens.com/mineralsfocussurvey. Minerals gave a presentation on We look forward to hearing from you! the company’s portfolio for the mining industry.

Publisher Publishing house Photo credits: Siemens AG, unless otherwise © 2015 by Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Siemens AG Agentur Feedback indicated. Munich and Berlin. Process Industries and Drives Design Offices Cemat, Comos, Frozen Charge Shaker, All rights reserved by the publisher. Large Drives – Minerals Mies-van-der-Rohe-Str. 8 Milltronics, Minerals Automation Standard, Schuhstr. 60 80807 Munich, Germany MultipleDrive, Profinet, Sicement, Sinamics, The information provided in this magazine 91052 Erlangen, Germany Simadyn, Simatic, Simine, Simovert, Sitrans, contains merely general descriptions or char- E-mail: [email protected] Passavia Druckservice, Siwarex, Totally Integrated Automation, acteristics of performance which in case of Passau, Germany Training Simulator and XHQ (eXtended Head actual use do not always apply as described Editorial responsibility Quarters) are registered trademarks of or which may change as a result of further in accordance with Publication date: Siemens AG. development of the products. An obligation German press law May 2015 to provide the respective characteristics shall Thomas Walther Circulation: 3,000 If trademarks, technical solutions, or similar only exist if expressly agreed in the terms are not included in the list, it does not imply of contract. Order No.: Editorial staff that they are not protected. Karen Chong, Daniela Michel-Fracci, PDLD-M10012-00-4A00 All figures and values cited in this issue are Daniel Schmid Dispo No.: 21662 in metric units unless otherwise indicated.

More and more, industrial processes are going digital. While some industries are far along in the digitalization of manufacturing processes, others like the minerals sector still have some ground to cover. Technologies that have proven their value in other sectors are successfully being implemented in mines. The benefit: increased flexibility and the ability to more quickly adjust to changes in the market.