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Mining and Metal Production

Mining and Metal Production

Mining and metal production operates in extreme conditions with high temperatures, abrasive materials, and corrosive atmospheres. Reliable instrumentation is critical for production continuity, worker safety, and energy cost optimization.

Overview

Mining and metal production operate in some of the most demanding industrial environments, with extreme temperatures, abrasive materials, heavy vibration, and corrosive atmospheres. From ore extraction and processing through smelting and refining, reliable instrumentation is critical for maintaining production continuity and worker safety. Level measurement in ore silos, slurry tanks, and molten metal vessels must withstand conditions that would quickly degrade standard sensors. Pressure monitoring throughout grinding, flotation, and thermal processes enables operators to optimize throughput while managing energy costs, which represent a significant share of total operating expenses in this sector.

Industry Challenges

Key challenges we help address

Operating instruments in extreme heat near blast furnaces

Measuring slurry and ore levels with high solids content

Preventing crusher and conveyor blockages in real time

Monitoring toxic gas levels for worker safety underground

Managing corrosive chemicals in flotation and leaching

Tracking vehicle and equipment safety in open-pit operations

Use Cases

Explore specific scenarios and challenges in this industry

Additive silos

Additive silos

Mining and Metal Production

Depending on the manufacturing process and the type of metal being produced, various additives such as lime are required. The products are stored in silos or concrete bunkers and usually fed to the process via conveyor belts. For cost-effective storage of these materials, level measurement in the silo contents is essential.

Alumina powder silo

Alumina powder silo

Mining and Metal Production

The alumina powder is kept ready in storage and day silos for subsequent smelting. Aluminium smelting is carried out in the fused salt electrolysis process, where pure liquid aluminium is extracted from aluminium oxide. Optimal storage is ensured by level measurement and point level detection.

Alumina powder stirring tank

Alumina powder stirring tank

Mining and Metal Production

The extraction of Aluminium from natural deposits of bauxite requires complex and expensive processes. In the ‘Bayer process, the bauxite is first mixed with sodium hydroxide, autoclaved and then stirred. After that, it is fed into the calciner (high temperature kiln), where it dehydrates to a fine white powder, aluminium oxide (Al2O3). Level measurement in this tank ensures optimal operation of the process.

Blast furnace

Blast furnace

Mining and Metal Production

Burden (iron-bearing materials) and coke are transported from the bunker to the top of the blast furnace. The charging of the furnace is done via conveyor belts or small aggregate wagons. To ensure an optimal distribution of the burden and coke layers, exact level measurement is required.

Buffer tank

Buffer tank

Mining and Metal Production

In the smelter, above the fused salt electrolysis bath there are small buffer tanks that are pneumatically fed via pipelines. The alumina powder is dispensed into the melt bath in small quantities from these tanks. The filling of the buffer tank is controlled by the feed pressure. Full and empty alarms ensure optimal charging of the powder.

Bulk storage tanks

Bulk storage tanks

Mining and Metal Production

Dependable storage is not only the basis for reliable production and supply, it also protects against raw material shortages and price volatility. In addition to regulations on the use of overfill protection or safety instrumented systems, large storage tanks are also often subject to hazardous area codes of practice in conjunction with level measurement.

Coke oven

Coke oven

Mining and Metal Production

Coke provides the necessary process heat, serves as a metal reducing agent and is a supporting matrix in the blast furnace. To achieve a high quality coke, the pressures in each of the separate ovens of a coking plant are individually regulated.

Conveyor belt

Conveyor belt

Mining and Metal Production

Bulk aggregates are fed into production processes via conveyor belts or screw conveyors. For effective feed control to and from these processes, or inter-production unit billing, the mass flow of the conveyed bulk material must be measured. A reliable belt-weighing scale system and mass flow rate ensures accurate measurement and smooth operation of the plant.

Coolant tank

Coolant tank

Mining and Metal Production

The cooling water is collected in tanks. Pressure pumps provide the water for cooling the manufacturing process. Level measurement in the coolant tanks ensures that there is always sufficient water available.

Crusher

Crusher

Mining and Metal Production

To be able to transport and further process the largest possible production volumes, the ore must have an optimal size. To achieve this, the ore is crushed to the correct size in two stages, in a primary and then a secondary crusher. In order to enable an optimum throughput, and avoid choking or damaging the crusher, a reliable level measurement is required.

Froth flotation cell

Froth flotation cell

Mining and Metal Production

To work efficiently, flotation cells depend on continuous froth formation. If the froth layer is too thin, it cannot transport the sufficient amount of dispersed or suspended particles to the surface. On the other hand, froth that is too thick indicates that the reaction time of the chemicals is too long. This has the consequence that too little of the medium gets processed. A density-compensated level measurement is the reliable solution in this process: this ensures that the density of the liquid remains constant and optimizes the process yields over a long period.

Ore storage silo

Ore storage silo

Mining and Metal Production

Mined ore is transported via conveyor systems to large above ground or underground silos and stored there until it is used in production. A reliable level measurement is required to determine the contents of the silos.

Ore thickener

Ore thickener

Mining and Metal Production

Extracted minerals are fed to the thickener as a slurry via a trough. The solids are settled out into the bottom of the tank, in a process accelerated through the addition of flocculants. Precise density measurement of the slurry underflow is necessary for effective control of the ore thickener.

Pump tank

Pump tank

Mining and Metal Production

Bauxite, lime and sodium hydroxide are ground and mixed in a ball mill – the mixture turns into a red slurry, which is then conveyed into the pumping tank. Some of the balls from the mill can potentially enter the tank along with the slurry. To prevent this from happening, the balls are collected in a weir arrangement, which overflows into the main tank. Level measurement in the tank avoids dry running of the pump and ensures a continuous process.

Reactor

Reactor

Mining and Metal Production

Aluminium powder suspension is an intermediate for titanium sponge production. In the reactor, vanadium oxide trichloride is removed from the aluminium powder suspension. When the aluminium powder suspension is fed into the reactor, strong turbulence arises on the product surface. To optimize the process, the level in the reactor must be accurately measured and monitored.

Sintering plant

Sintering plant

Mining and Metal Production

After sintering, the hot material is cooled down to a temperature of about 150 °C in the sintering cooler. The feed rate of the sintering belt is controlled to ensure that the material is thrown off at the end of the sintering belt. To achieve effective cooling, the thickness of the material on the sintering belt has to be continuously and precisely measured.

Storage tanks for additives

Storage tanks for additives

Mining and Metal Production

For many processes, additives such as sulfuric or hydrochloric acid are required. These are kept ready for use in storage tanks. Level measurement is needed here to ensure availability of the additives.

Storage tanks for toxic liquids

Storage tanks for toxic liquids

Mining and Metal Production

Some processes generate toxic intermediates that have to be stored in compliance with strict safety regulations. In order to be used in this area, the measurement technology deployed must meet special safety requirements when it comes to design and functional reliability. A trustworthy level measurement is critical for the storage of these toxic materials.

Torpedo car

Torpedo car

Mining and Metal Production

After the blast furnace is tapped, the molten pig iron flows into torpedo cars at a temperature of over 1400 °C, then transported to the foundry or converter for further processing. A reliable level measurement is a must for the safe, reliable filling of these torpedo cars.

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