A contemplative stance on the automation of the mining, mineral, and metal processing industry (MMM) an IFAC report

The trend in the industry T H E MINERAL-PROCESSING INDUSTRY is , and will remain, very sensitive to the metal market, which in turn is very dependent on the use of metals for the improvement of lifestyle in developing and developed countries. An assumption is made that the weapons industry will have a reduced effect in the future on the use of metals, and therefore on prices. The cost of metal production, and the quality required, is influenced by the current awakening of environmental awareness. Thus a large part of metal-production costs is determined by the requirement for "environmentally friendly" production facilities. It seems, however, that at present this translates into transferring the "dirty process" of mineral-to-metal conversion from densely populated areas in developed countries to sparsely populated areas in developing countries. This transfer is assisted by the urge of the developing countries to provide "value-added" products (instead of ores or concentrates of minerals). It remains to be seen whether the new production facilities, built closer to the orebodies, will in time be environmentally acceptable. A noticeable input in the cost of mineral and metal production is the electrical energy required. Again, the electricity generating plants are also contributing towards a dirty environment--particularly where they are coal-based. The largest input into the cost is the salary bill paid by the metal producers, and therefore the industry is concentrating on automation, assuming that higher quality and improved productivity on a per capita basis can be achieved by this means. At the same time, rising salaries and the cost of automation lead to larger production units and a requirement for better communication, resulting in plant-wide information and decision-support systems. Efficiency, health and safety, and plant availability are all factors that lead to further automation in the MMM industry. Quality of the end-product is now becoming a vital part of metal production. Thus, a tough, thinly rolled, and malleable steel for the automative industry is a prime requirement for survival of the steel industry, because plastics are now competing in this field. Safety of mining personnel and an increase in production are other factors that influence the cost of metal, and are therefore also target areas for increased mechanization and automation. Ore properties, such as grindability, mineral texture, degree of liberation, and surface properties during flotation and leaching, are not measurable in the beneficiation process. Some vital operating parameters, such as froth properties, slurry rheology, or feed-size distribution are also not available on a reliable and continuous basis in the mineral-processing industry. A lack of reliable and robust quality-measuring devices is also noticeable in the metal-processing industry. While improved sensing capabilities would significantly increase the