Training Simulator for Flotation Process Operators

This paper presents a novel simulation concept for operator training in the field of mineral processing. The simulations are carried out with a dynamic process simulator HSC Sim ® of HSC Chemistry ® developed by Outotec Research Oy. The simulator is fitted to mimic an existing copper flotation circuit as accurately as possible by using metallurgical models and then integrated into a larger simulation environment, providing the operator trainees a realistic experience of the process. The simulation environment is designed to be scalable and very flexible, allowing many different usage scenarios and thus aiding in the transfer of the tacit knowledge from operator generation to the next. Concurrent work is being done on higher level analysis, utilizing the results reported in this paper.