Norilsk Nickel and Reksoft create a domestic system for optimizing flotation management using video analytics and AI

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.