Tag Archives: PDAC 2019

SGS pairs portable instrumentation and machine learning with FAST

IoT, Mineral exploration, Mining equipment, Mining events, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , , ,

SGS has announced a new service for the metals and mining industry, Field Analytical Services and Testing (FAST), in North America and Australia.

FAST provides real-time data acquisition in the field by pairing portable instrumentation and machine learning, according to the company, which used the backdrop of the annual Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada show, in Toronto, Canada, to make the announcement. “It will bring instrumentation into the field, provide data within 24 to 48 hours and, with the use of machine-learning, enable real-time decision-making capabilities for clients,” the company said.

Part of the solution includes Minalyze AB’s Minalyzer ED-XRF core scanning technology, according to the company.

Russ Calow, Vice President Global Analytical Services, Minerals at SGS in Canada, said: “This service offering will allow our clients to optimise their exploration programmes and production procedures, while making rapid decisions that support quicker speed-to-market.

“SGS is committed to providing analytical procedures that yield meaningful, reliable data – while integrating our in-house, industry leading machine-learning capabilities to give innovative, field based solutions to our clients.”

SGS calls itself the global leader in the geochemical laboratory analytical testing sector with over 160 geochemical laboratories in 45 countries. Its FAST solution reflects a commitment to servicing the mining and smelting industries throughout the entire value chain, leveraging leading technologies, according to the company.

“SGS operates on-site and near-site laboratories in some of the most remote locations in the world, regardless of the climate, the altitude, the logistics or the sample volume,” the company said.

“Whether requirements are at the mine site or in metal smelting and refining plants, SGS has the experience, technical solutions and laboratory professionals to help clients maximize value from their operations and reach their goals efficiently and effectively.”

SGS services to the minerals sector include geochemical analysis, resource calculation, mineralogy, metallurgy, engineering, process design and engineering, process control, water treatment and trade services.

McKinsey presents ‘mega project’ blowouts and how to avoid them at PDAC

Mineral project development, Mining events, Mining services, , , , , ,

A study presented by McKinsey’s Matthieu Dussud at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s (PDAC) annual convention has shown one in five “mega projects” completed between 2008-2018 suffered significant cost and schedule overruns.

Out of the 41 projects surveyed – all with a capital expenditure of $500 million or more – 19% suffered a budget overrun of more than 100%. Of these projects, the average schedule delay was 29 months, Dussud said.

Some 44% of the 41 projects were hit by budget overruns of 15-100% – with an average seven-and-a-half month delay – while 17% were “within estimate” coming in less than 15% over the capex budget. Of those projects surveyed, just 20% suffered no cost or time overruns, Dussud said.

The reasons for these problems were multi-faceted, but Dussud, an Associate Partner at McKinsey and Co, said the company’s study had shown a strong correlation between the budget overrun and project size.

For example, 24% of projects with an upfront cost of $500-999 million suffered capex overruns when comparing the feasibility study to the actual cost. At the higher end, 61% of projects with feasibility study capital outlays of more than $2 billion were hit by budget blowouts.

Dussud also said underground mines and higher elevation facilities underperformed against their baselines more consistently in the study, with mining projects built above 3,000 ft (914 m) running overbudget by, on average, 47% and underground mining projects running overbudget by, on average, 55%. Open-pit mines, meanwhile, fared better with 42% of these suffering capital overruns.

McKinsey and Dussud ranked the root causes of mega-capital project cost and schedule overruns in the study, with a difference of opinion seen between owners and contractors.

Both parties agreed that increasing project and site complexities was the biggest problem of eight, but the rankings differed from there on.

From one to eight, mine owners ranked the root causes as follows:

  1. Increasing project and site complexities;
  2. Design processes and investment are inadequate;
  3. Bespoke or sub-optimal owner requirements;
  4. Insufficiently skilled labour at frontline and supervisory level;
  5. Poor project management and execution basics;
  6. Industry underinvests in digitisation, innovation, and capital;
  7. Contractual structures and incentives are misaligned;
  8. Extensive regulation and cyclical nature of public investment.

The contractors, on the other hand, had the ranking as follows:

  1. Increasing project and site complexities;
  2. Poor project management and execution basics;
  3. Contractual structures and incentives are misaligned;
  4. Design processes and investment are inadequate;
  5. Bespoke or sub-optimal owner requirements;
  6. Insufficiently skilled labour at frontline and supervisory level;
  7. Extensive regulation and cyclical nature of public investment;
  8. Industry underinvests in digitisation, innovation, and capital.

Dussud and McKinsey proposed eight key changes for mine owners to increase mining capital project outcome certainty in their feasibility study practices.

This included establishing a prescriptive standard for feasibility studies – part of a broader stage-gate process; building in a systematic and holistic value improvement step to avoid “gold-plating”, and maximising project economics within the owner’s feasibility study approach; leveraging granular benchmarks (including construction productivity metrics) to validate inputs and capex/opex estimates; embedding construction planning, operations readiness and marketing strategy at every step of project study development to de-risk execution and operations; and investing time, effort and management focus on building and optimising an integrated master schedule.

The other three recommendations were:

  • Design an incentive scheme for the feasibility study contractor to enable a “value maximisation, out of the box thinking and transparent mindset” (eg performance bonus based on net present value improvements) and favour “relational contracting”;
  • Setup the foundations of the project’s contracting strategy early during the feasibility study (identify partners, define contract scheme, negotiate terms, etc), and;
  • Build a strong owner’s team with the right capabilities, mindset and behaviours.

ANDRITZ’s AI mineral processing concept named #DisruptMining 2019 winner

Automation, IoT, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining events, Mining industry recognition, Mining services, Mining software, , , , ,

ANDRITZ, and its artificial intelligence-backed mineral processing facility operation concept, has been named #DisruptMining 2019 winner at the event in Toronto, Canada.

The company was one of three finalists selected to pitch to a panel of judges at the live finale, which took place last night.

ANDRITZ, which is a leading supplier of machines and automation solutions worldwide, has developed a unique and continuous way of training artificial intelligence to operate a mineral processing facility using ANDRITZ’s digital twin, Goldcorp, which hosts the event on the sidelines of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s annual gathering, said.

“The AI is trained to respond to a variety of situations, making it capable of adapting to changing inputs and improving upset recovery time,” Goldcorp said. The trained AI’s ability to quickly process information and recommend data-driven solutions will allow for the improvement of the operation, such as start-up and shutdown, and assist operators to achieve plant-wide optimisation, the company added.

Todd White, Goldcorp Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Operations, previously said: “#DisruptMining continues to represent the best of innovation in the mining industry. These finalists demonstrate break-through thinking and help build digital momentum in mining. The industry needs to help accelerate the development of these kinds of technologies.”

ANDRITZ beat off stiff competition from Anaconda Mining, which has developed a two-stage drilling method to enable economic mining of narrow-vein deposits, and Voith Turbo, a division of Voith GmbH & Co KGaA, whose Internet of Things application, BeltGenius, creates a digital twin of belt conveyors providing real-time insight into the behaviour of the operation.

SGS to demo real-time field data acquisition solution at PDAC convention

IoT, Mineral exploration, Mining equipment, Mining events, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , ,

SGS, a leading certification, inspection and testing service provider for the global metals and mining industry, says it will announce the launch of a new real-time field data acquisition solution at the upcoming PDAC 2019 convention in Toronto, Canada.

The solution pairs portable instrumentation and machine learning to significantly speed up turnaround time for field data, enabling clients with enhanced decision-making capabilities and quicker speed-to-market, SGS said.

The solution, being launched in North America and Australia, will be on show at a demonstration at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on March 5 in a demonstration involving Peta Hughes, Project Manager, Global Geochemistry, SGS Canada, and Matthew Rees, Chief Geologist, IAMGold.