Simulating and Optimising Mining Operations with Simulink

In the past, good mine management was linked to the quality of the ore body. As operating conditions become more challenging, increased effort needs to be spent on optimising and/or streamlining mining operations and process control.  Forward looking mining companies are turning to simulation tools for this.  Simulation reduces plant downtime by working on a virtual representation.  Simulation can also be used to perform what if analyses and understand the true root cause of issues.
Simulink is the foundation simulation tool of MathWorks. It is a block based graphical environment that supports rapid development and analysis. 

Simulink is:

• Flexible – caters to many applications, e.g. operations, process control, signal processing.
• Functional – a visual environment that can simulate and communicate models, and allows for easy interaction from the user
• Powerful – can leverage MATLAB for additional capabilities like automation, optimisation and parallel computing.

In this webinar, the following examples are used to demonstrate the above concepts:

• Modelling water usage and contamination concentration using mass balance methods
• Modelling and control of equipment within a processing plant
• Modelling and optimisation of material movement from the mining pit through stock piles and processing to the port

About the presenter: Daryl Ning is senior application engineer for the signal processing and communications industry at MathWorks Australia. He joined MathWorks Australia 2006. Daryl received both his Ph.D. and B.Eng. (electrical engineering) from the Queensland University of Technology, where he also worked as a research assistant in speech and audio processing for biometrics and compression.