Mines increasingly seeing value in digital systems

As market forces continue to dictate the innovation imperative in the mining industry, mining companies are increasingly looking to invest in digital technologies to enable them to make informed decisions. This was the overarching observation from Weir Minerals Africa’s interactions with customers at the recently ended Electra Mining Africa 2022.

“Several customers spoke about the need for real time management of important operational parameters at their operations. Mines are moving away from human assumptions to using actual data points for tracking key indicators that make equipment reliable,” says Tiisetso Masekwameng, General Manager – Comminution at Weir Minerals Africa.

To respond to this growing need for digital solutions, Weir Minerals Africa showcased its Synertrex intelligent platform which provides mines with insights into actual costs of running their plants, data to develop strategic improvements to mining operations and the opportunity to performance benchmark every part of their operations.

“Synertrex is a complete digital ecosystem that continually monitors equipment’s performance and integrates with customers’ distributed control systems. This means that advanced analytics are conveyed through a digital interface, making sure our customers have all the indicators delivered to their devices with accuracy and in real time, even if they aren’t at the mine,” explains Masekwameng.

As part of Synertrex condition monitoring, she adds, sensors are applied to processing equipment and the data they provide is captured and continuously analysed. Customers are therefore able to eliminate guesswork from their operations by having detailed real time insight into how their equipment is performing. Information is displayed on a simple, easy to understand dashboard which can be accessed via any device or integrated into existing operational systems. It will convey real time fact-based insights into machine performance and health, remaining useful life and other crucial operational indicators.

“As mining companies redefine their investment strategies, the Synertrex intelligent platform can help customers transform their operations. This is because it also assesses their machinery’s performance, including potential improvements, such as optimising the equipment’s energy efficiency or throughput. The Synertrex intelligent platform remotely manages maintenance from monitoring wear and tear, to scheduled servicing and repairs, to keep mining equipment at its most productive, thus ensuring maximum equipment uptime and profitable operations for mining companies,” concludes Masekwameng.