Mipac recently commissioned two ISACONTROL™ systems at Thompson Creek Metals Company’s Mount Milligan copper / gold mine in Canada.
The greenfield site comprises an open-pit mine and processing plant which operates on a Delta V distributed control system and is designed to produce 60,000 tonnes of copper / gold concentrate per day over the next 22 years.
The mine’s remote location — 150km NW of Prince George, BC and about 92km north of Fort St James — means that, post commissioning, MI is offering online export support to Thompson Creek Metals Company engineers.
“Our experience in deploying ISACONTROL™ and expert knowledge of IsaMill™ technology streamlines commissioning,” Project Manager Brian Forrester says.
“We are able to debug and collaborate with our clients who can choose to talk with Mipac engineers in Canada or in Australia, depending on time zone suitability.”
In addition to performing the DeltaV control system configuration for the ISACONTROL™, Xstrata Technology contracted Mipac to undertake the instrument and cabling design, instrumentation procurement, junction box and control system marshalling supply for two M10,000 IsaMills™.
Mipac used Emerson’s characterisation module (CHARM) technology as part of the ISACONTROL™ to reduce the installation costs and to facilitate changes during commissioning.
“Mipac has a great relationship with Xstrata Technology and worked well with Thompson Creek Metals Company control engineering team. This, coupled with our proven experience in implementing ISACONTROL™, means we delivered a seamless integration of our client’s standards into the IsaMill™ and our configuration is already proving to be efficient and reliable.”
Thompson Creek Metals Company’s senior process control specialist Matt Bergsma commends Mipac on the IsaMills™ configuration and commissioning.
“I do believe Mipac’s involvement saved us on commissioning time and it was a relatively seamless integration with our team.
“Having someone knowledgeable about IsaMills™ as a whole – code included – during the commissioning was a major benefit.”