ABB's Ability System 800xA has been installed and integrated with existing laboratory infrastructure in the Extractive Metallurgy department at the Anglo American Technical Solutions' (TS) facility in Johannesburg.

The immediate application of the technology will be in hydrometallurgical leach experiments, which have the potential to be scaled up and implemented on site. Advanced process control methods will allow for continued optimisation and fine-tuning of the control methodology based on the specific and unique chemical, metallurgical and mineralogical complexity for each of the experiments.

"The transition from the current system with limited capability to the ABB Ability System 800xA is an exciting step change for our work at Technical Solutions," said Nico Groenewald, a metallurgist at Technical Solutions. "It is a great example of where process control and our innovation-led approach to sustainable mining comes together to improve current processes and develop new ones."

John Manuell, head of the local division of Process Industries at ABB, added the system brings new process control features that will optimise testwork initiatives and enhance functionality.

"This will enable metallurgists to interact with the system in a far better and more user-friendly manner, which will ultimately allow for more accurate experimental data to be collected". 

In August, ABB announced that it would install ABB Ability System 800xA for Nexa Resources as part of a five-year transformation programme for that mining company's smelting process installations in Brazil and Peru.