Sampling 2014 Cape Lambert B (CLB) Ship-loading Sampling and Analysis

Transcription

1 Sampling 2014 Cape Lambert B (CLB) Ship-loading Sampling and Analysis Richard Brunning, Charlotte Andringa-Bate, Malcolm Graham, Sara Westergren Rio Tinto Iron Ore

2 RTIO Cape Lambert B Project The RTIO Cape Lambert Port B (CLB) project has involved the construction of a new 100 Mt/a iron ore port facilities adjacent to the existing Rio Tinto Cape Lambert Port A facility (CLA) The project is being carried out in two phases each adding approximately 50 Mt/a of export capability As part of the Cape Lambert Port B development, Rio Tinto has designed and constructed the largest automated iron ore port laboratory in the world Will consist of four robots operating on two 20 metre long tracks

3 Location of the Cape Lambert B Port CLB sample plant building

4 Location of CLB Sampling and Analysis Facilities CLB sample plant building

5 Sampling and Analysis at CLB Associated with each Phase is a sample station and sample preparation cell All aspects of the sampling facilities are completely automated Prepared samples from each sample preparation line are passed to a common analytical cell The system is linked to Phase B Sample Analytical Cell the production conveyors Preparation via sample stations that bring the samples directly into the laboratory Phase B Phase A Sample Preparation Phase A

6 CLB Sampling and Analysis Scope The primary design requirements for CLB sampling and analysis for Phase A (50Mtpa) were: Time based sampling of both Lump and Fines products Ship-loading rates ranging from 6,000 tph up to 13,440 tph Loading up to four products on one vessel, and partially loading three vessels Temporary storage space for samples from up to 12 separate cargoes Improving sampling precision of all products Achieve the desired sampling precision across potential cargo sizes between and t Moisture, lump sizing, fines natural & dry sizing determinations throughout the loading of a cargo Analysis of composite samples for chemistry at completion of loading

7 CLB Sampling Rio Tinto follows ISO Standards ISO 3082:2009 Sampling and sample preparation procedures Time based protocol taking increments Primary sample cutter aperture of 150 mm (lump and fines) CLB Primary Cutter, sample transfer conveyors, ore-on-belt detector (foreground) CLB Secondary Cutter

8 Sampling System Design A target sampling precision for Fe of 0.15 % was agreed upon leading to a requirement for 110 primary sample cuts per cargo The primary sample repetition rate is calculated based on maximum loading rate of t/h For smaller cargoes the t a primary sample cut is required every 97 s in order to achieve 110 cuts throughout loading For t cargoes the time between primary cuts increases to 11 minutes Once the primary sample repetition rate has been calculated and set and sampling has commenced, the primary sample repetition rate cannot be changed for the remainder of that cargo

9 Sampling Process Flow Diagram

10 Primary Sample Stretching With the primary sample length varying from 6.3 m to 14.1 m, accommodating the variations in quantity of secondary sample material obtained posed one of the most significant design challenges Ultimately it was realised that if all primary samples were transformed to samples of constant length and variable bed depth, then six secondary cuts could be achieved for all primary cut sizes This also results in the delivery of constant mass of material (4400kg) delivered to the sample preparation cell per cargo of ore sampled

11 Robotic Sample Preparation Rio Tinto follows ISO Standards ISO 3082:2009 Sampling and sample preparation procedures ISO 4701:2008 Determination of size distribution by sieving ISO 3087:2011 Determination of the moisture content of a lot Lump Screen Shaker Robot for CLB CLB Robot placing moisture sample Drying Oven Drying Oven

12 Phase A Sample Cell and Analytical Facilities 1. Analytical chemistry laboratory 2. Automatic infeed magazine 3. Manual infeed magazine 4. Bucket cleaning 5. Grandstand storage 6. Interlinking conveyor (Phase B) 7. RSD's 8. Wescone crushers 9. Boyde crusher 10. IR tray dryers 11. Moisture Ovens 12. IR drum Dryer 13. Balance 14. Seiving 15. Metallurgical composite drum carousels

13 Chemical Sample Preparation and Division Sample material for chemical analysis is accumulated throughout the loading of a cargo for final analysis at the completion of loading. Separate A and B samples derived from the direction of operation of the primary cutter are processed separately HPM1500 Mill

14 Automated Analytical Cell Rio Tinto follows ISO Standards ISO 3082:2009 Sampling and sample preparation procedures ISO 9516:2003 Determination of various elements by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry ISO-DIS Iron ores - Determination of loss on ignition - Gravimetric method ISO 2596:2006 Determination of hygroscopic moisture in analytical samples Gravimetric

15 Commissioning the Sample Preparation Cell The sampling system has the ability for bulk sampling to take place via reversal of the secondary cutter discharge conveyor Backup chemical and sizing retention samples are also available in the automated cell During commissioning, a bulk sampling campaign was carried out, as well as analysis of cell retention samples, to externally verify all chemical, sizing and moisture results produced from the CLB automated cell

16 Commissioning Chemical Testing Results Fines Cargoes Cargo Difference (Absolute %) Reported Fe SiO 2 Al 2 O 3 LOI Hygroscopic Moisture Auto Manual Auto Retention A M A R A M A R A M A R Lump Cargoes Cargo Difference (Absolute %) Reported Fe SiO 2 Al 2 O 3 LOI Hygroscopic Moisture Auto Manual Auto Retention A M A R A M A R A M A R A - M Difference between automated sampling and manual secondary bulk sampling A - R Difference between automated sampling and chemical retention sample

17 Assessment of Sampling, Division and Measurement Precision The collection, division and analysis of A and B samples enables the calculation of the individual precision components, including sampling (2 s ), sample division (2 p ), measurement (2 m ), and ultimately calculation of the overall precision of the process spm. Individual and overall precision for PBL cargoes from Dampier and CLB export terminals are shown below Precisions are calculated as per ISO 3085 and in all cases, the precision for each element exceeds the minimum precisions quoted in ISO 3082 Parameter 2 m Dampier 2 p Dampier 2 s Dampier spm Dampier 2 m CLB 2 p CLB 2 s CLB spm CLB spm ISO3082 Fe / % SiO 2 / % Al 2 O 3 / % P / % Mn / % LOI / %

18 Conclusions Full automation of the Cape Lambert B sampling and analysis has been a significant accomplishment for RTIO The system represents many new innovations in sampling such as: Use of time-based sampling coupled to a robotic system The concept of stretching the primary increment to allow a consistent number of secondary cuts to be taken and, Processing of large quantities of material from multiple cargoes using two robots mounted on a linear track The success of this system is clearly demonstrated by the improvement in the sampling precision, reliability of the sampling components and quality of the results produced by the system which have been verified externally The installation of a second sample preparation cell for CLB Phase B project has commenced

19 Acknowledgements Rio Tinto Iron Ore Nigel Crisp, SKM Paul Cornes, SKM Harvey Moir, IMP Innovative Solutions Boyne Hohenstein, IMP Innovative Solutions