Worley (company)

In the last quarter of 2023, several tappingTapping tests were performed at BHP CopperCopper SA Olympic DamOlympic Dam Electric Slag Cleaning furnaceSlag Cleaning Furnace using Trefimet thermal lancesThermal lance. Data collection from the tappingTapping tests allowed for a technical statistical study regarding performancePerformance, Tap holes wear profiles and economic analysisAnalysis. Subsequent analysisAnalysis accounts for the quantification of the economic and safetySafety impact generated by the use of Trefimet thermal lancesThermal lance and the overall contribution to the tappingTapping operationOperation. Results from wear profiling, economic impact and safetySafety improvements are reported here.

Olympic DamOlympic Dam is an integrated processingProcessing facility from ore to metalMetal producing copperCopper, goldGold, silverSilver and uranium. The smelterSmelter includes a Direct to BlisterBlister Flash FurnaceFlash furnace, Electric FurnaceElectric furnace and two Anode FurnacesAnode furnace. MoltenMolten blister copperBlister copper is drained from the furnacesFurnace for launderLaunders transfer via opening/plugging of tapholesTaphole with a combination of mudgun drilling and thermal oxygen lancingLancing. During the tap, frozen copperCopper build-up is continually managed by operators with thermal oxygen lancingLancing to ensure there is a constant path for moltenMolten metalMetal flow. The Olympic DamOlympic Dam smelterSmelter and the BHP innovation team (Think and Act Differently) have partnered with MIRS RoboticsRobotic (roboticRobotic tappingTapping and plugging) and Vesuvius (high-temperature 3D scanning technologyTechnology) to develop a roboticRobotic solution to operator tasks related to tappingTapping and copperCopper build-up management. The solution has the potential to reduce manual handlingHandling, remove operators from the line of fire, and improve tapholeTaphole longevity.

To ensure proper process control of a flash furnace precise real-time information of various operational parameters such the slag chemistry is required. Currently the most used methods to obtain this information are based on X-ray diffraction (XRD). Although XRD techniques are highly accurate, they provide information every couple of hours which hinders their applicability as real-time measurement instruments that aid process control. In this work, an optical probe system supported by a deep learning (DL) model is implemented and validated to monitor in real time the slag copper content in direct-to-blister flash-smelting process. In particular, the optical probe system employs Planck’s radiometry to calculate the slag surface irradiance, temperature, and spectral emissivity and then combines this radiation information with the furnace copper concentrate feed rate information to input DL models. The proposed system was validated in a real-case usage scenario in the Olympic DAM’s direct-to-blister flash furnace over November 2024. The results show that the proposed optical probe can provide continuous slag surface temperature and copper content estimation with high accuracy, while operating without interruptions in a hostile high-temperature environment.

Net zero is an endeavour that will impact every corner of the world. We need global communication and collaboration. To move fast, the transition must become more efficient and spread the best solutions far and wide. For difficult to decarbonise industries, collaboration is essential. The other essential ingredient is policy. The UK banned diesel and petrol car sales from 2030. This is driving electric vehicle manufacturing and supply chains. The EU banned single-use plastics from 2021. Consequently, Coca Cola Europe announced 100% of their bottles would be based on recycled plastic. Norway introduced a carbon tax in 1991 to encourage research into low-carbon solutions. It became the first country to geologically sequester CO2 and the first to do it from an LNG facility. Ten years after the tax was introduced, Norway’s carbon emissions had dropped by 14%. Policies influence emissions. They drive not only environmental outcomes but also sustainable growth and the ability to future-proof their economies. In 2007 and 2012, the UK announced funding for a commercial-scale carbon capture and storage project, both times the programs were aborted. A third attempt, this time focussing on decarbonising four industrial clusters by 2030, was announced in 2018 along with the first ‘net-zero’ carbon cluster by 2040, with the support of a number of UK policies it is expected to progress to construction. This paper discusses the journey from policy through partnerships to the development of Carbon Capture and Hydrogen Clusters in the UK and looks at lessons learnt for Australia.

Residual stresses are a major issue in the Selective Laser Melting process, which allows to build near net shape parts by stacking several thousand weld beads. This experimental study aims to investigate the relationships between process parameters and the part distortion. Based on the Bridge Curvature Method (BCM) and 3D topographic measurements of the top surface of the specimens, the effect of the volumetric energy density, the geometry and the scanning strategy are analyzed. The method and the proposed distortion criteria clearly highlight the anisotropy of the residual stress state, which depends on the direction and the speed of the scanning. The main curvature is oriented along scan direction for scanning speed higher than 1000 mm/s. The decrease in volumetric energy increases distortion, below a threshold value. The scan vector length, which can be varied by changing the scanning strategy and the specimen geometry, plays a primordial role on the residual stresses. The distortion amplitude decreases by shortening the scan vectors. Finally, the prospect of an adimensional analytical model taking into account the transient thermal gradient is given.