Project Magnet extends the life of Whyalla Steelworks

Arrium Mining is a leading Australian resources company, currently exporting at a rate of 12 million tonnes of hematite ore to China per annum from its Middleback Ranges and Peculiar Knob mining operations in South Australia. The company has three key businesses: mining, mining consumables, steel and steel recycling.

A significant milestone in the company’s history occurred in 2005 when Arrium decided to diversify into the resources sector through Project Magnet which would convert the Whyalla Steelworks to a magnetite iron ore feed, creating a new revenue stream for the company by making hematite iron ore available for export sales.

Aerial view of the pelletising plant after Project Magnet.

A project of this magnitude would require a completely integrated control system, enabling visibility for any operator station across the pit-to-port operations. To achieve this, Arrium Mining called on the expertise of LogiCamms together with Rockwell Automation to deliver a solution that would not only extend the life of the Whyalla Steelworks but also reduce the cost of steelmaking while incorporating environmental improvements.

With the mine site located approximately 60 km from the Whyalla Steelworks, a slurry pipeline was built to allow magnetite to be transported through the pipe to Whyalla. Concurrently, hematite ore continued to be transported by rail to the port for shipping.

The three main areas of the operation that required complete control system integration were the materials handling area, which involves the handling and storage of hematite for export; the filter/flux area which receives magnetite from the slurry pipeline and prepares it for feeding to the existing pellet plant; and the mine concentrator area.

A challenging aspect of this project was the distance involved in connecting the concentration plant which was near the mine site to the filter/flux which is located at the steelworks more than 60 km away.

“This was addressed by utilising Ethernet across a large fibre-optic network. FactoryTalk View provided visibility at any operator station across the whole of the pit-to-port operation,” said Greg Schultz, executive account manager - mining, Rockwell Automation.

To provide reliable and secure control system integration based on the ControlLogix platform, multiple redundant control systems were used. Low- and medium-voltage drives were also provided for the pumping and crushing equipment, and safety components including Guardmaster safety relays were incorporated into the motor control centre design.

“This application was one of the largest FactoryTalk View applications to be completed at the time and high-level support from the Software Business Unit of Rockwell Automation was invaluable in the success of the solution,” said Andrew Thompson, senior engineer - control systems for LogiCamms.

According to Jonathon Deluao, principal control systems engineer, Arrium Mining, “The solution has provided full integration and a high level of process control which gives us the ability to control and modify the system according to the production needs.”

“We now have a fully automated plant that is flexible enough to cater to our needs both production wise and process wise,” continued Deluao.

Project Magnet has enabled a significant increase to Arrium Mining’s export capability.

The transition of the Whyalla Steelworks from hematite to magnetite feed has changed the iron ore pellet process from a dry to a wet process. As the magnetite ore is pumped via a slurry pipeline from the mine to the steelworks, the level of fugitive dust emissions are reduced, which greatly benefits the Whyalla community. Project Magnet has also fostered the use of covered facilities for loading iron ore and the relocation of the crushing and screening area to the mine site, which has resulted in further improvements in environmental conditions for Whyalla. A trans-shipping service has also been introduced to avoid major dredging of the Whyalla Port and a new fleet of high-sided wagons has been put into service. The benefits from Project Magnet play an important part in enhancing the sustainable competitiveness of the Whyalla Steelworks.

The successful implementation of Project Magnet has essentially provided a new lease of life for the Whyalla steelworks by extending the life span from the expected 2020 constraint imposed by hematite ore reserves, to at least 2027.

Based on the success of Project Magnet, Arrium Mining has opened another mine using a complete solution from Rockwell Automation. “We have migrated to a completely integrated Ethernet network with advanced segregation and security components,” said Deluao.

Through combining leading technology with high-level domain expertise, Project Magnet has resulted in a completely integrated pit-to-port solution that continues to provide many benefits to the Whyalla and South Australian communities.