Emerson awarded $4 million contract

Emerson Process Management has won a $4 million contract for digital automation and control of minerals processing at the BHP Billiton nickel/cobalt mine and telephone facility under construction in Ravensthorpe, Australia.

The open-pit mine and minerals processing plant is part of a $1.1 billion project that will annually produce up to 50,000 tonnes of nickel and 1400 tonnes of cobalt.

Emerson will install its PlantWeb digital architecture with Foundation fieldbus technology to deliver more process and equipment information than traditional analog systems, enabling BHP Billiton to operate a safer, more reliable, and better performing mine and plant.

The DeltaV digital automation system with AMS Suite maintenance software, key components of PlantWeb, are at the core of the innovative digital approach that will include more than 2000 smart digital field devices, making it the largest Foundation fieldbus installation in Australia, and the largest use for mineral processing in the world.