Kansanshi PCS7 Smelter Upgrade
- North western province of Zambia
- Control System: Siemens PCS7
Mipac was engaged to undertake the PCS7 upgrade of the Kansanshi Smelter, which was originally commissioned in 2014/15. The project required a cutover of an extremely aggressive timeline of 8 weeks from project order to site execution.
Mipac had previously installed the full plant wide control system (PWCS) and ISASMELT™. This project scope of work included the smelter design and configuration, development of PWCS software standards, FAT (Factory Acceptance Test), site commissioning and operator training and the OSI PI System™ server configuration and testing for the plant.
Project scope
- PCS7 upgrade V8.0 SP2 to V9.1
- Platform test and simulation where possible
- Procurement coverage/ structuring to handle the extremely compressed timeline
- Complete system virtualisation
- Replacements of all switching hardware and PCS network backbone
- Upgrade of redundancy mechanism to a seamless redundancy mechanism parallel redundancy protocol (PRP)
Project results
The project’s primary objective was achieved on time and on schedule. The extraordinary timeframe of 8 weeks was met due to the experience of Mipac’s engineers, who worked closely with the client and suppliers to come up with a no-compromise yet deliverable project architecture.
Our close working relationship with Siemens also enabled us to secure expedited delivery times on the project and allowed it to succeed without any delays. This relationship meant that we could bring forward bug fixes from Siemens direct from Germany and deliver them to site in a short timeframe. This allowed the site to move to PCS7 V9.1, a mere six weeks after release to project commissioning onsite.
The project was undertaken during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a commissioning and cut over period of three-weeks. This required exceptional dedication from the engineering team, who were subjected to intense activities as well as all the personal risks of travel at the time.
The final control system cut over window was 5 days and completed in a staggered fashion allowing some operating components of the plant to continue to run.
Feedback from the client
Mipac have been none other than a trusted partner throughout our Cobre Panama project where they were engaged to provide around-the-clock support for the OSIsoft PI System, RtDuet and MPA. Not only did Mipac provide an easy-to-use service desk portal where we were able to log issues and simply find solutions to common problems through a library of rich how-to articles, they also offered a direct line in the need for emergency support. The Mipac team has continuously demonstrated a high standard of excellence, providing Cobre Panama the best products, services and support. The attention to detail in designs and implementation is outstanding. Mipac’s genuine and dedicated engineers supported our team from inception of implementation of the PI system and new PI components (including a PI Integrator and Power BI reports), all the way through to concept development of a new architecture that helped boost performance and reliability and increased security to meet the growing demands and requirements for 24x7 support. Mipac has worked side by side with me and team on all challenges during and after implementation. Not a milestone was missed through the course of the project due to the commitment Mipac demonstrated as a pivotal partner helping us achieve optimal results. Mipac has understood the requirements and demands of our site and have delivered equally as demanded.
Ravindran Pillay
We are very pleased with the performance of the smelter. The achievement of over 100% of nameplate capacity, in just three months from startup, is unprecedented. It is a credit to the design and project teams and illustrates the strong capabilities of the operations management and staff.
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First Quantum’s proven Project Execution model aims to build and commission our own plants with the recent start-up and smooth ramp-up of the Cobre Panama project being our latest success. For this project, FQM engaged Mipac as the main automation contractor to provide Cobre Panama with a world class digital control infrastructure. Just as importantly however, it was the mineral processing, commissioning and plant optimisation knowledge that Mipac brought with them that was one of the various key enablers that allowed a successful ramp-up of the plant.
Zenon Wozniak Director, Projects / First Quantum Minerals