The Profit Controller, an advanced control and optimisation technology, is being used by more than 100 process units and more than 20 different types of mining processes worldwide, and can be applied to copper, alumina, gold and iron ore.

While the news marks a key milestone for Honeywell, it also further exemplifies a trend for mining companies to increasingly turn to advanced multi-variable predictive control (MPC) techniques to improve production rates.

According to Honeywell, MPC technologies such as Profit Controller allow mining companies to design, implement and maintain advanced control systems, which can drive processes to maximum economic benefit.

Designed for highly interactive mining processes, the company’s controller is uniquely suited to deliver and sustain production improvements and, Honeywell said, and many mining companies using Profit Controller report time-on-control at a rate greater than 90%.

The fully stand-alone, off-the-shelf solution, can integrate with most control systems.

“By collaborating with our local automation experts on design and using Profit Controller’s proven automated and control modelling tools, many miners have been able to rapidly implement MPC strategies to improve their operations,” the company said.

“Combining this with a rich toolset such as Profit Stepper, an automated modelling tool, allows most installations to be completed in two months – a timeframe crucial for sites that need to reap immediate benefits, such as mines expected to face closure.”

Additionally, Honeywell said Profit Controller’s robustness reduced the effort needed to implement and support the system, an added benefit for mines with limited resources.

“Mining companies have used Profit Controller’s remote-support capabilities, a feature that allows fewer engineers to more effectively manage applications in operations in different locations,” it said.

“A leading South American copper producer uses it at multiple sites to compare APC efficiency across its entire operation, making sure the various mines are producing at their maximum outputs.”

Other leading mining companies have partnered with Honeywell to leverage their limited resources to rapidly and widely deploy MPC strategies with more sustainable and profitable results.

“In the past, mining companies hesitated to use MPC because they believed it to be difficult to implement and maintain, and that it was a longer-term solution not suitable for immediate payback or for small operations,” Honeywell mining and metals marketing manager Bob Jonas said in a statement.

“Now, newer, automated features combined with collaborative support have greatly eased those concerns and more miners are starting to see that MPC can provide fast results to make their businesses more profitable.”