The technology vendor claims Vale, the world’s largest iron ore producer, has certified the SpectraFlow Crossbelt Analyzer for online iron ore measurement at its ports and mines.
It says SpectraFlow Analytics is Vale’s online iron ore analysis supplier after a comprehensive trial that assessed hardware stability and measurement accuracy.
Vale’s Guaíba Island Terminal (TIG) takes iron ore from several different sources by train and loads it onto ships for export. SpectraFlow said global demand, local supply, and climate change and sustainability constraints require the world’s largest iron ore producer to tighten quality assurance and control.
Vale, Brazil’s largest logistics operator, must manage railway and ship loading timetables with ever-smaller delays. SpectraFlow, which is supplying its online near-infrared (NIR) technology to the corporation, says real-time chemical and mineral analysis can solve all these problems.
SpectraFlow has deployed 75+ analyzers in 28 countries.
Vale’s laboratory examined minute-by-minute Crossbelt Analyzer data of iron and other critical chemical components. TIG needs accurate moisture analysis because ships can capsize if moisture levels are not managed.
“Fortunately for Vale, SpectraFlow’s online measurements of moisture and all other critical chemical constituents were well within the strict delta limits set by Vale’s quality control protocol,” it stated.
The analyzer has already eliminated unnecessary stoppages at TIG, helping Vale decrease downtime and provide value quickly.
Now that the technology is validated, the SpectraFlow analyzer can mix material to attain optimum quality and gangue objectives at the port and even earlier in the value chain, at Vale’s mines.”
The SpectraFlow online analyzer monitors dry raw material composition at crucial stages in mining, processing, and refining value chains. The analyzer measures fine moisture, grade, and gangue composition variations in real time over a conveyor belt or in an airslide.
The company claims that bulk mineral, precious metal, and cement producers can create automated control loops for quality control and assurance by using the analyser’s measurements directly with the control room PLC or from SpectraFlow’s database and monitoring user interface.
SpectraFlow’s online NIR analyzer’s advantages:
- The analyzer has no radioactive sources, neutron generators, or dangerous components. The SpectraFlow analyzer requires no import, operating, or maintenance permissions. The plant staff can safely maintain the SpectraFlow analyzer.
- The user may send high-resolution feed forward information to downstream processing or make value-based ore sorting control choices using real-time, short acquisition time measurements of the whole material flow.
- The Crossbelt Analyzer provides vast volumes of precise composition data for real-time input on upstream quality deliveries including ore block control and stockpile blending, eliminating the need for frequent belt cuts or human sample.
