The Santa Elena Mine in Northern Mexico is in a remote location where there are extremely limited local resources. For efficiency and safety purposes, the mine needed to fully automate its on-site processing of gold and silver ore under tight schedule requirements. Because of the remote location, the client required a modular process control design that was prewired and tested before arriving on site.
We met the mine’s requirements by developing a modular supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system using GE iFix and Rx3i process automation controllers. Our technicians installed and wired distributed I/O into six modular enclosures that house the motor control for the entire facility. These enclosures were factory tested and then shipped to the site in Mexico for electrical installation.
The SCADA system now provides monitoring and control for all the mine processes including primary and secondary crushers, conveyance, ball mills, thickeners, leaching, tailings stacking, chemical pumps, water distribution, and a variety of other ancillary systems.
Careful planning, preparation, and pre-testing of the modular process control design facilitated on-time system commissioning, enabling the client to take advantage of strong commodities pricing. The client now has a reliable control system to run their facility for the life of the mine.
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