Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
Baden, Switzerland, April 10, 2013 – ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, recently hosted its global Mining User Conference at The Westin Cape Town, South Africa. The conference – with its seven years of tradition – hosted 31 key companies from the mining industry, coming from over 20 countries and all continents.
End users, major mill suppliers as well as consultants, EPCMs, OEMs and insurance representatives followed ABB’s invitation to Cape Town. 38 educational presentations, held by end users, suppliers and ABB specialists, as well as various interactive discussion sessions offered an open and distinctive platform to exchange knowledge and discuss latest developments in mining applications and support capabilities.
In addition, this year’s conference also included interactive live introductions to two ABB solutions: The ServicePortTM and state-of-the-art control System 800xA with its Extended Operator Workplace (EOW-x).
Acting as an on-site service channel guide, the ServicePortTM enables delivery of local and remote services, and provides access to the latest ABB equipment, process diagnostics and ABB experts. Through continuous monitoring of equipment and process variables, ServicePortTM creates a rich data pool to diagnose and troubleshoot equipment and process issues. Customers can view key performance indicators (KPIs) that drive the implementation for improvements faster and more efficiently. These improvements will be sustained and optimized by periodical scan reports and tracking of the KPIs. The extended automation System 800xA provides the collaborative environment necessary for various organizations and departments to work as one and achieve operational excellence. The EOW-x is an ergonomic and performance-enhancing control room solution that facilitates fast and correct operator decision-making and produces measurable improvements in plant productivity, safety, information flow between different stakeholders, and operator job satisfaction.
Ruan Fouchee, Process Engineer at Anglo American Platinum, South Africa stated: “The conference offers extensive international networking opportunities for various suppliers and end users. The multidisciplinary presentations definitely broaden everyone’s horizon. It is an extremely well organized, top-class event.” And Michael Allan, Vice President Engineering at Teck Resources Limited in Canada, added: “I liked the global aspect of the conference with the opportunity to meet people from North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. It was a very good exposure to the full range of equipment and services offered by ABB to the mining industry. Teck have made a significant investment in ABB equipment for our new projects in Chile. This conference gave me and my colleagues the opportunity to learn about the equipment we have purchased and to get to know people in the ABB organization.”
The event helps to strengthen the bonds and trust between all involved parties by giving operators and suppliers their say. This eases and improves future operations.
ABB offers comprehensive market leading service and product packages from electrification, automation including state-of-the art control systems and drives systems to optimization solutions for the complete production chain in mining and mineral processing. With over 100 years of experience in the underground mining field, ABB is the only supplier of complete mine hoist systems – both electrical and mechanical and has already delivered more than 600 complete mine hoist systems. In addition, ABB offers over 60 years of experience in open-pit mining and over 40 years of experience in mineral processing. ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs more than 145,000 people. For help with any technical terms in this release, please go to: www.abb.com/glossary
