Guidelines for Ore Tracking System in the Complex Underground Transportation Got from the DISIRE Project

Tracking of a mined ore is now considered as one of the key issues for the needs of improvement of the whole value chain of metal production. Ore beneficiation processes (grinding, milling, floatating) aimed to increase the metal recovery and decrease the energy use as well as reconciliation of mining production depend on the identification of a mined ore. However, even if the ore is recognised at mining faces (with the help of analysis of channel samples and orebody modelling), after being mined it is blended on its way from various mining fields to the processing plants. In a complex transportation system consisting of belt conveyors with switching points, ore bunkers and shafts, batches of mined ore become anonymous. Following the growing needs of getting the knowledge from the transported or processed raw material, the DISIRE research project (within the Horizon 2020 framework program) was carried out in 2015-2018. It was focused on investigation of the Process Analyser Technology (PAT) tags for annotating the transported or processed bulk material for the needs of its further processes control and optimisation (economic, decrease of energy use). The DISIRE work package "Non-ferrous mineral processing" was devoted to implementation PAT tags for the identification of conveyed copper ore in the underground mines to get the data necessary to improve the ore processes settings control. The complex investigations consisted of the analysis of available data from existing information systems, tests of the use of labelled tags in the harsh operational conditions of the underground mine, digital experiments of simulating the ore flow throughout the transportation system, the specific modelling of the ore particles movement inside the shaft ore bunkers with the use of Discrete Element Method. These main research activities were supported by supplementary investigations like application of picture recognition techniques for differentiation of various ore batches and statistical analysis of ore loading process (by trucks from mining fields). The processing of the real data as well as the numerous in-situ experiments have proved the possibility of the application of PAT tags for the needs of ore tracking and allowed to set the guidelines of the ore tracking system. The ore tracking system should be based on the dedicated simulation model of the mine transportation system, supported on-line by the data from existing information systems that monitor mining production and machinery control. As the mining transportation system is subjected to frequent changes, PAT tag experiments should be repeated to validate the simulation model. Ore bunkers play a key role in ore mixing which should be identified with the help of DEM modelling. All investigations were done on the basis of the chosen KGHM S.A. underground mine set of real operational data. The copper ore mined in these mines is considered as one of the most complex in the world (and the most difficult to be processed), so the implementation of the ore tracking system would be of great value for the more effective ore processing.