Quebec Iron Ore digitally transforms mining operations with AVEVA solutions
Quebec Iron Ore digitally transforms mining operations with AVEVA solutions
Mining operations don’t just occur at the mine site. The mining value chain may include multiple sites and ore may travel hundreds of kilometers to reach buyers. To manage operations, assets, and product traceability from pit to port, one company accelerated its digital transformation by taking advantage of AVEVA’s advanced mining software solutions.
Quebec Iron Ore’s (MFQ) open-pit mine in Bloom Lake, Québec produces 7.4M tons per annum (Mtpa) of high-grade 66.2% Fe iron ore concentrate in its phase I facility. The company’s vision for phase II expansion includes an ambitious goal to double production capacity to 15 Mtpa of 66.2% Fe iron ore concentrate over a 20-year mine life. To support the expansion project, MFQ developed a digital transformation roadmap to serve as a guide to improving the efficiency, sustainability, and ease of its operations.
A robust data framework provides the foundation for digital transformation
The initial goal MFQ hoped to accomplish through its digital transformation was shortening reaction times from events to resolution. To accomplish this, the company needed a structured data repository to monitor operations and assets in real time. It also wanted to use its data to generate business and operational reports so it could make faster, more informed decisions. Multiple isolated control rooms across the mine also hampered data management. There was no system to holistically manage operations.
To support phase two of its expansion and double its output, MFQ also needed to improve asset reliability.
aveva.com© 2023 AVEVA G roup L imited and its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. AVEVA and the AVEVA logo are a trademark or registered trademark of AVEVA G roup L imited in the U.S. and other countries. All product names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective h olders. In a recent beta trial, MFQ used historical data that included asset breakdowns to see if the system could detect them. After verifying that the tool detected breakdowns reliably, MFQ expanded the project to monitor ten critical assets, including coarse tailing pumps and autogenous mills.
Goals
- Reduce reaction times from event to resolution.
- Create a robust data architecture to collect, visualize, and analyze operations and asset data.
- Increase real-time visibility of pit-to-port operations.
Challenges
- The company lacked data management capabilities to efficiently generate business and operational reports.
- Phase II of the expansion required greater asset reliability and availability.
- Ore lacked traceability after leaving the mine.
Solutions
- AVEVA™ PI System™
- AVEVA™ Operations Control
- AVEVA™ Predictive Analytics
Results
- Teams can perform their own analysis and generate more detailed reports.
- Real-time asset analysis tools made assets more reliable for the phase II expansion.
- Unified data management tools provide the data foundation to achieve complete pit-to-port visualization.
“The AVEVA PI System asset framework architecture is detailed, so users can see all the information related to an asset in one place.”
Nicolas Toupin - Programmer, Business Intelligence
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