Plantstar 2000: A plant-wide control platform for minerals processing

The PlantStar 2000 was developed as a plant-wide control platform for the m inerals processing industry. It is a platform which allows for the combinat ion of any number of control strategies into a single control system. PlantStar utilises a 3-layer approach to the management of metallurgical pr ocesses. The first layer is that of Process Stabilisation - essential befor e a system can be successfully optimised. This layer incorporates a selecti on of advanced control strategies. Process Optimisation is the second laver , providing Expert System functionality in an easy-to-use environment. The final layer is that of Process Management, enabling easy access to PlantSta r from anywhere on the plant or even via the Internet, making monitoring of plant operation much easier. The inclusion of OPC-technology in PlantStar will ensure PlantStar's compatibility with other OPC-compliant applications . Thus, it will be possible to integrate PlantStar with existing plant cont rol systems. PlantStar will initially be available for control and optimisation of milli ng and potation processes. It can incorporate the functionality and control strategies of Mintek's MillStar and FloatStar systems. New control strateg ies currently being investigated by Mintek (eg cyanide control on gold plan ts) will become available as modules enabling the PlantStar 2000 to ultimat ely be used in the control of most sections of a minerals processing plant. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.