PREDICTION OF THE COPPER PRODUCTION IN THE FRAMEWORK OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY CONSUMPTION USING ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK.

The metallurgical process of the copper production is a very complex process and requires the consumption of electrical energy in large quantities. One of the challenges of today is to reduce the use of electrical energy by increasing the energy efficiency of the system. This challenge can be solved by developing energy management in mining companies. In order to approach the development of energy management, it is necessary to create models for predicting the volume of copper production by investigating electricity consumption in the main production stages. In this paper, the consumption of electricity required in the process of copper production is analyzed on the example of a local mining company. Data on electricity consumption were collected for a period longer than one year and the parameters were divided according to the main phases of the metallurgical process. Two models for predicting copper production using artificial neural network were created and the most influential parameters were identified. The significance of the models is reflected in the efficient forecasting of the copper production and therefore the demand for electrical energy. Another advantage of the models is the increased possibility for rationalization of electricity consumption on the basis of the influential parameters. The models are recognized as flexible and can find their application in related companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]