MMG Dugald River is marking one year since commissioning a first-of-a-kind AI powered system that has increased zinc recovery and profitability.
The system, developed in partnership with professional services firm Hatch, uses a digital twin of the flotation process to automatically fine-tune the mine’s already high recovery rate in real time. The digital twin combines process models, machine learning and advanced process control to automatically adjust the plant’s operations based on incoming feed.
Dugald River General Manager, Tim Akroyd, said the use of digital twin technology was the natural next step for the team that had already made significant performance gains using traditional methods.
“We’ve been running a successful zinc processing operation with clearly defined goals to deliver continuous improvement, and our team has delivered strong outcomes over many years,” Dr Akroyd said.
“As an operation, we are focused on identifying and implementing the right technology that can continue to drive safety and performance improvements. This is effectively like an always-on assistant that continuously adjusts how the plant runs to get the most zinc out of every tonne of ore processed.”
The one-year anniversary of the solution represents a significant milestone for the project, with analysis showing that investment was repaid less than three months after commissioning.
Senior Metallurgist Alec Malcolm, who has led the implementation of the project onsite said the system had brought a new level of consistency to the plant.
“The results have been positive, exceeding our previous performance benchmarks. I’m also encouraged by the flexibility of the system and how it can be tailored to different process goals.”
Warwick Smith, Global Practice Lead for Digital Twins with Hatch, said MMG had done a great service for the mining industry by pioneering complex AI solutions.
“MMG represents true forward-thinking for industry, and their successful adoption is giving confidence to others who want to explore how technology step-changes can greatly enhance their operations,” Mr Smith said.
“MMG has the right team on the ground who trusted the process and understood the long-term view of the company – we invested considerable time to explain how the technology would support their decision-making processes in real-time and partnered very closely with them to help them take the leap.
“By applying an incremental and metallurgically focused approach to the application of digital twin technology in a complex process, from initial feasibility through to staged implementation, the site team were able to closely advise the development process and de-risk the overall implementation.
“Through steady confidence building with site metallurgical and operational teams over time, Dugald River have achieved a level of autonomous, AI-driven plant control rarely seen in minerals processing.”
ends
Media Enquiries
Michelle Zydower
+61 456 953 368
michelle.zydower@mmg.com