Mining

Intoduction

The mining industry is the global supplier of the basic commodities that drive the industrial world. The industry extracts ores such as iron, copper, zinc and basic chemicals such as limestone, slate, coal etc. Increasingly the mines are open cast using large machines and explosives, though some deep shaft mines remain. As the reserves of the Western world become exhausted the mines are moving to more remote parts of the world.

The challenges they face include the ability to measure the flows of the ores which are often transported along pipes as slurry.

Solution

Process tomography can be used in a variety of unit processes, such as:

mixing of different components in both batch and continuous processes
separation, such through liquid-liquid separation, filtration, hydrocyclones (which are frequently used for classification of slurries)
flow and logistics, such as hydraulic conveying, pneumatic conveying, characterising the profile of solids flow across conveyor belts
reactions, such as dissolution, crystallisation.