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MineSense Technologies launches data platform to aid mine-to-mill optimisation

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MineSense Technologies Ltd has launched the MineSense Data Portal, a groundbreaking platform that, it says, leverages real-time data from ShovelSense® and BeltSense® to empower mining operators with data-driven insights for mine-to-mill optimisation.

The MineSense Data Portal is a powerful digital platform that enables access to real-time data generated by ShovelSense and BeltSense at critical points in the ore processing value chain. Along with interactive features for visualising and analysing data, the data portal provides actionable insights that mining personnel can use to optimise their entire operations – from extraction at the mine face to downstream processing in the flotation circuit.

Copper Mountain Mine, as an early adopter, had the opportunity to evaluate the MineSense Data Portal, benefitting from the combined power of ShovelSense and BeltSense systems. The mine, located in British Columbia, leverages both ShovelSense and BeltSense applications across the site.

Rudolph Botha, Senior Geologist at Copper Mountain, said: “MineSense is a leader in material tracking and live material analysis, from shovels to belts. I don’t believe there’s anything in the market that matches [the MineSense Data Portal’s] capabilities in terms of tracking grades and accurately monitoring material.”

Jeff More, President and CEO of MineSense, said: “The MineSense Data Portal empowers mining operations to maximise the value of real-time data generated by our ShovelSense and BeltSense technologies, offering the mine enhanced visibility to optimise end-to-end operational processes and unlock their full potential.”

Frank Hoogendoorn, Chief Data Officer at MineSense, added: “MineSense is committed to helping mines in their digital transformation journey by not only providing completely new datasets for process optimisation, but also in providing advanced tools to fully unlock the value of those datasets. We’re excited that the new data portal gives mine operators far greater visibility into their mill feed and is packed with features that help them make more informed decisions to improve both profitability and sustainability.”

Key features of the MineSense Data Portal highlighted by the company include:

  • Real-time tracking of grades from digger buckets, trucks and conveyor belts
  • Summary of trucks redirected by ShovelSense
  • System availability monitoring and spare parts inventory
  • Three dimensional visualisations of bucket and truck grades for mine planning insights
  • Ore tracking dashboard of ShovelSense and BeltSense grades and material types for mill process optimisation; and
  • Customised layout tailored to each unique mine.

MineSense senses further mining commercialisation opportunities in 2021

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MineSense, having continued the introduction of its transformative technology into mines in 2020, says it is well positioned to dramatically ramp up commercialisation of its sensor-based ore data and sorting solutions in 2021.

The company’s solutions are focused on improving mine profitability by taking advantage of the maximum heterogeneity at the face to increase ore recovery and minimise waste processed, it says. “This profit improvement is even more critical as mines work to recover profits lost due to COVID-19 impacts in 2020,” it said.

MineSense started the year by closing a $25 million equity financing led by BDC’s Industrial Innovation Venture Fund to ramp up commercialisation and further expand operations globally.

It followed commercialisation at Teck’s Highland Valley Copper mine, with commercialisation of three new ShovelSense® systems at Copper Mountain Mining’s Copper Mountain mine, in British Columbia, Canada, in 2020. MineSense said it has been embedded into the mine’s operating practices and is included as an enabling technology in their latest NI 43-101 Technical Report.

In this report, Copper Mountain said the system’s primary goal is to direct the right material to the right destination; that is, ore to the primary crusher and waste to the waste dump.

It said the two-year evaluation period with MineSense hardware and software on three of its five loading units at Copper Mountain Mine had accomplished two objectives:

  • Selective recovery of economic copper ore from defined non-economic rock – approximately a 4% improvement; and
  • Selective rejection of non-economic rock from defined economic copper ore – approximately a 4% improvement.

MineSense’s global growth has been  supported by local field services teams who normally work at mine sites. COVID-19 presented new challenges including restricted site access, but the MineSense team overcame this, executing the first remote installations of ShovelSense systems this year.

“The flexibility and innovation by our field services and customer’s operations teams was instrumental for us in going live with multiple operating systems in Chile and Peru,” MineSense’s EVP Business Development, Claudio Toro, said.

The MineSense ShovelSense System improves orebody visibility bucket by bucket in real time during the loading process, according to the company. Trucks are then automatically diverted to the correct location, increasing value and revenue realised during the mining process. The technology also creates reductions of CO2 emissions per tonne of ore produced, consumption of processing chemicals and reagents, energy and water, while maximising metal recovery.

Frank Hoogendoorn, Chief Data Officer at MineSense, said: “We are excited to provide mines with new, data driven capabilities for sorting ore and waste. Our sensors and on-board machine learning based algorithms provide real-time bucket grades at the earliest point in the extraction processes, which enables mines to extract ore more precisely and optimise downstream processes at a resolution that previously was out of reach.”

To support mine site operations and their ore decision making, MineSense now provides 24/7 data room technical support for continuous monitoring of all elements of system performance. To track value creation, customers access their data through MineSense’s Client Portal. “This consists of data- rich visualisations of ore/waste diversions, real-time grade data and operational diagnostics,” the company says. “This information assists grade control engineers and metallurgists in mine planning, downstream operations, and overall reconciliation.”

MineSense President and CEO, Jeff More, said the mining industry was undergoing a transformation in technology and, “through its technological innovation, MineSense is able to build upon the digital and data ecosystem and create visibility where it didn’t exist before”.