Abstract
The lithological composition of the copper ore delivered to the mills, when recognised in advance, is considered as the most important factor for the proper settings of grinding/milling equipment that can both decrease the specific energy consumption of ore processing and increase metal recovery. In order to address this problem, the idea of the use of sensors for in-situ sensing with respect to adaptation to harsh environment of copper ore conveying in the underground mines was investigated. The in-situ sensors information carrying pellets, are planned to be used for annotating the copper ore for the needs of ore processing plants control. The improved identification of the lithological composition of ore can be achieved by combination of annotating the stream of transported ore with pellets that keep the information on the original location of the ore (when they are dropped into the transported bulk material), the data of the in-situ lithology derived from the digital, orebody structural and quality block model and the simulation analysis of the transportation system. The idea is being developed within the DISIRE project – a part of the SPIRE initiative, acting under the “Horizon 2020” framework program.
Highlights
Introduction to the DISIRE projectSustainable Process Industry through Resource and Energy Efficiency (SPIRE) is a proposal for a Public Private Partnership (PPP) aiming to regain competitiveness of the ailing European process industry by “the collaborative efforts of public research and technology organisations and academia as well as industry stakeholders throughout Europe, along and across the value chain” [5, 6]
The SPIRE initiative has been launched in order to address the European efficiency targets set for 2030: - reduction in fossil energy intensity of up to 30% from current levels, - up to 20% reduction in non-renewable, primary raw material intensity compared to current levels
The problems identified in the copper ore processing at the KGHM processing plants have been addressed in several papers [3]
Summary
Sustainable Process Industry through Resource and Energy Efficiency (SPIRE) is a proposal for a Public Private Partnership (PPP) aiming to regain competitiveness of the ailing European process industry by “the collaborative efforts of public research and technology organisations and academia as well as industry stakeholders throughout Europe, along and across the value chain” [5, 6]. (shortly called KGHM) is the key industrial partner of the Work Package 5 – Non-Ferrous Processes, focused on the improvement of transportation of the copper ore by belt conveyors and processing the ore as well as enhancement of the on-line PAT information on further process stages. Other industrial application work packages deal with ferrous, steel and combustion processes and are supported by the direct research and development activities in the areas of industrial process control, electronics and sensor development as well as data mining. Either the transported or transformed bulk material keeps the information on itself, and if needed, on the process that can be read and analysed along its way in order to provide data for improving the consecutive steps of processing
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