Norilsk Nickel and Reksoft have developed a contactless volume and weight measurement system based on optical tools and video analytics

2025: Creation of a contactless volume and weight measurement system based on optical tools and video analytics

Nornickel and Reksoft have completed the development and implementation of an optical balance system for calculating the mass of bulk materials on a conveyor belt based on computer vision. Reksoft announced this on September 30, 2025.

The solution is designed to measure mass in cases where it is not possible to install traditional conveyor scales, for example, on inclined conveyors, belt feeders or belts moving at a variable speed. The use of video analytics allows you to additionally receive information about humidity, size, as well as identify foreign objects, which is an indisputable plus over classical measurement methods.

The solution was implemented as part of a comprehensive system - "Digital Converter Assistant," which allows:

• determine exactly how many fluxes (additives) need to be added depending on the chemical composition of the feedstock based on the calculation of the material balance;
• prompt the operator when it is necessary to complete the process based on the determination of the chemical composition in real time using spectrometry;
• Accurately check the volume of additives to be added using optical scales.

The project was implemented at the site of the Copper Plant of the Polar Branch of MMC Norilsk Nickel and, according to the current results, will increase the extraction of rough copper by 0.42%, which together can give the site an additional $2-3 million per year, "commented on the effects Anton Harin, project manager, chief manager of the Innovation Department of Norilsk Nickel.

The solution can be replicated for a large number of industries and processes where it is necessary to measure the mass of products on moving conveyor belts - mining and processing of ores, metallurgy, processing or even food industry.

To solve this problem, Norilsk Nickel and Reksoft equipped the conveyors with video cameras, lighting systems, and also developed a sensor that allows you to calculate the movement of the conveyor belt with high accuracy. The system determines the volume of the fill through finding identical points in two consecutive personnel from the camera using information from the sensor about the movement of the tape between this personnel, then recalculates the found volume into mass through the bulk density of the material.

One of the objectives of the project that was successfully solved is the uneven speed of movement, frequent stops and slippage of the conveyor belt. Such initial conditions did not make it possible to use traditional sensors for calculation, so the Reksoft team developed a special sensor that allows you to determine the displacement of the tape in an arbitrary period of time with an accuracy of tenths of a millimeter. The local edge calculator used in the solution allows you to perform calculations in a mode close to real time, - said Mikhail Volokhov, project manager of the Reksoft Consulting 's Technological Consulting practice.

The developed solution made it possible to control the volume of feed in a place where it was not possible to supply conventional conveyor scales, as well as to signal to the operator that it was necessary to complete the supply of material when the required amount of feed was reached. The current solution made it possible to control the process without capital expenditures for the modernization of the conveyor belt, as well as to control a number of other important parameters, such as humidity and ore size.

At the end of September 2025, we are introducing an optical mass measurement system - LIDAR, which allows us to quickly obtain a dense cloud of points for the entire scanned surface. This will speed up the existing solution, as well as improve its accuracy. A special combination of computing boards, optical tools and algorithms allows you to get high accuracy at a minimum price, which makes the system available for scaling by a large number of checkpoints without unnecessary costs. The project opens the way to the widespread use of contactless mass measurement technology, - the head of the department Ilya Mukha, manager of the Transformation Strategy practice, Reksoft Consulting commented on the importance of the task.

2024: The beginning of the creation of a system for optimizing the management of serosulfide flotation and flotation of nickel slag

Nornickel and the Reksoft multidisciplinary technology group are creating a system for optimizing the management of serosulfide flotation and flotation of nickel slag. The system will be based on video analytics technologies and subsequent processing of the results of algorithmic machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Reksoft announced this on November 5, 2024.

Flotation is a method of enriching minerals in which crushed rock is treated with special reagents. At the same time, particles of some minerals are wetted and drowned, while others are not wetted and carried away by foam, which allows you to get rid of waste rock. In industrial production, cascades of flotation machines are usually used for the application of this technology in factories and processing plants.

The goal of our project is to minimize the content of non-ferrous metals in the tailings, as well as increase the selectivity of metal extraction into target concentrates (nickel and cobalt in nickel and copper in copper concentrates). The expected effect is an increase in metal extraction and simplification of operating conditions. Prototyping will be carried out at the site of the Nadezhdinsky Metallurgical Plant named after B.I. Kolesnikov in Norilsk. We plan to complete the first stage of the project in mid-2025, - commented on the project Andrei Karimov, chief manager of the Center for the Development of Digital Technologies of Norilsk Nickel.

In most processing plants, the production is controlled by the operator in a manual mode (pulp level, reagent mode, density control) based on a visual inspection of the operation of flotation machines. A drawback of this method is suboptimal control settings, the accuracy of which is highly dependent on the experience of a specialist. Also, there is often no prediction of the load on flotation depending on the work of previous departments (the flotation operator after the fact learns about the increase or decrease in the load on equipment). The task of the project is to gradually automate the process, reduce the burden on operators, make the management process more stable and predictable.

The specialists of the combined team of Norilsk Nickel and Reksoft will create a solution with a visual autonomous controller of the flotation process, based on video analytics and machine learning. The first stage will be to equip flotation machines with cameras, which will allow you to monitor the technical condition of the equipment in real time and reduce the load on personnel. At the next stage, work will be carried out on the digital analysis of the flotation chemical process. For each stage, in addition to direct monitoring of the process, shift reports will be generated with the display of the main indicators of equipment operation, as well as with the recording of detected deviations during the process.

As part of the project, a platform will be developed that provides a life cycle for the operation of machine learning applications, including integration with data sources, analytical data tools and visual representation of processed data.

As a result of the project, a digital assistant will appear that will display the results of video analytics on the operator's dashboard. Together, this will ensure continuous monitoring of the flotation process, predict the occurrence of emergency situations, and ensure the availability of data necessary for comprehensive analysis and further improvement of the flotation management process.

According to the Moscow Mining Institute in Russia, as of November 2024, there are about 200 enrichment plants. 1 billion tons of ore are processed annually. And 40-45% of this volume is enriched by flotation. Constantly communicating with the management of processing plants of metallurgical enterprises, we see a request for such solutions. The results of the joint development of Norilsk Nickel and Reksoft will be of interest to the entire industry, "commented Dmitry Karamyshev, director of the mining solutions department at Reksoft.