Advanced control of gold ore grinding plants in South Africa.

A description is given of the advanced control systems installed in two of Anglogold Ashanti's Au ore grinding circuits, with three lines at Mponeng and six lines at Kopanang. The control system is based on the OCS software and combines the flexibility of an expert system with fuzzy logic and the power of an on-line dynamic phenomenological model, used as an advanced soft sensor of the whole process. The history and implementation methodology is described and the resulting increases in throughput and Au recovery are analysed with particular reference to the effects of improved control of particle size.
A description is given of the advanced control systems installed in two of Anglogold Ashanti's Au ore grinding circuits, with three lines at Mponeng and six lines at Kopanang. The control system is based on the OCS software and combines the flexibility of an expert system with fuzzy logic and the power of an on-line dynamic phenomenological model, used as an advanced soft sensor of the whole process. The history and implementation methodology is described and the resulting increases in throughput and Au recovery are analysed with particular reference to the effects of improved control of particle size.