Mining and mineral processing

Automation of mining and mineral processing

Automation in mining and mineral processing is driven by extremely harsh operating conditions, high safety requirements and growing competitive pressure. Your yield can be significantly increased with reliable and precise processes. However, even innovative technology will only be a long-term solution if it works consistently year after year. Festo supplies sturdy automation solutions that combine maximum productivity with outstanding system availability and also include digitalisation.

You can rely on us in every phase of your project

Extreme temperatures, UV radiation, operation in high mountainous areas and exposure to corrosion, contamination, dust and acids: Festo is very familiar with the harsh environmental conditions in mining and mineral processing.

We have been working closely with mine operators and system engineers from the metal, industrial, energy and construction minerals sectors for many years.

Reliable products and systems from Festo increase your system availability and productivity in process engineering. Tailor-made services help you to optimise energy consumption and contribute to decarbonisation.

Wherever your mines are, we are a reliable partner who is at your side in every phase of the project, from engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning through to operation and on-site service.

On your journey to digitalise your mining processes, we offer you new ways to make them more flexible and more efficient. This includes networked components for modular automation, cloud services or dashboards for analysing your performance, either on-site or remotely.

Take the productivity of your systems to a new level – throughout the entire process chain

Overview of application examples

Three examples of how you can come closer to your productivity goal

Operate hydrocyclones more efficiently

Valve terminals offer far-reaching benefits for hydrocyclone operation. Your system availability increases because the valves are no longer directly on the actuator and are therefore outside the critical zone of vibrations, aggressive media or mechanical influences. Meanwhile, troubleshooting in the control cabinet installation is much simpler and the diagnostic capability of the valve terminal helps with predictive maintenance.

Hydrocyclone

More yield in flotation

The more constant the froth level, the higher the yield. With our closed-loop controlled linear actuators DFPI you can achieve a very high degree of control accuracy of the dart valves and can thus optimally separate the fine-grained and high-quality ores from the gangue, all without external attachments like displacement encoders, connectors and converters. This solution is both insensitive to corrosion and to vibrations. This significantly reduces the need for calibration and maintenance. The relevant safety functions are already integrated too.

Read more about how you can operate flotation cells more efficiently (PDF)

Flotation cell

Maximum performance in filter presses

Control and regulate your process valves from a control cabinet with remote I/O valve terminal combinations and without time-consuming individual wiring. This makes processes more stable as the actuation is no longer influenced by harsh environmental conditions.

The process valves and process sensors supply data to the electrical terminal CPX for optimisation and predictive maintenance. As the compressed air is continuously monitored, you will notice the potential for greater energy efficiency.

You can use our configurator for process valve units to quickly and easily size your butterfly valve units to suit the application perfectly.

Filter presses

Selected products for mining and mineral processing

Linear actuator with displacement encoder

Linear actuator with displacement encoder DFPI

Easy to install, sturdy and reliable in use, the corrosion-resistant linear actuator DFPI to ISO 15552 has a built-in linear potentiometer or fully integrated positioner. Ideally suited for the automation of dart valves in flotation cells.

Butterfly valve unit

Butterfly valve unit KVZA

Size and order your custom butterfly valve units quickly, easily and reliably with our configurator – without waiting times. You will also receive data sheets, CAD data and CAD models that match your configuration.

Ball valve unit

Ball valve unit KVZB

Size and order your custom ball valve units quickly, easily and reliably with our configurator – without any waiting times. You will also receive data sheets, CAD data and CAD models that match your configuration.

Valve terminal MPA-S with CPX terminal

Valve terminal MPA-S with CPX terminal

Incredibly modular and versatile! The CPX interface on the valve terminal MPA is based on the internal bus system of the CPX, and uses this serial communication system for all the solenoid coils and electrical input and output functions.

Service unit combination

Service unit combination MSE6-E2M

MSE6-E2M constantly monitors the compressed air consumption, blocks the compressed air after waiting a specific period once production has stopped and reduces the system pressure to 0 bar. It can be integrated directly into PROFIBUS, PROFINET, EtherCAT or Ethernet/IP via fieldbus.

Service unit combination

Service unit combination MSB6

With the pre-configured MS series, Festo offers a holistic concept for your compressed air preparation. For simple standard applications as well as for application-specific solutions with the highest quality requirements.

Valve terminal VTSA with CPX terminal

Valve terminal VTSA with CPX terminal

The decentralised CPX/VTSA is the perfect solution for automating your clamping and stopper functions. It combines valves, I/O modules and safety functions with a comprehensive range of fieldbus and IO-Link® options.

Pinch valve for heavy-duty applications

Extremely low wear – pinch valve for heavy-duty applications

Thanks to its high performance, extremely low wear and long service life in open/close mode as well as in proportional control applications, the heavy-duty pinch valve is the ideal solution for applications in mining and mineral processing with abrasive or corrosive fluids, pastes, slurries, powders or media with a high solids content.

Find out more about the applications and benefits (PDF)