PROJECTS
A general overview of the services we offer. Feel free to contact us for more information.
Project Management
U-Drive Process Control provides project management and consulting services for capital projects in the metallurgical industry, with a primary focus on concentrators, smelters, and sinter plants. Working alongside clients and specialist consulting teams, we manage and support plant upgrades, process stabilisation and optimisation projects. Our Services: • Process and control stabilisation and optimisation for autogenous (AG) and ball mills, flotation circuits, thickeners, spiral plants, kilns, and sinter plants. • Process and process control audits, supported by detailed data analysis to identify the principal causes of instability throughout the process train. • Tuning of existing control systems. • Management of Advanced Process Control (APC) implementation and commissioning projects. • Control network checks and audits to identify and address communication failures and sources of instability. • Implementation of process monitoring and reporting systems. • Ongoing remote monitoring and management reporting to support stable operation and the achievement of metallurgical recovery targets. • Management of IT and control platform migration projects within the mining industry. Selected Project Experience Advanced Process Control and Reporting Systems Managed APC and reporting implementation projects at Sibanye concentrator plants, Nkomati Nickel Concentrator and Glencore Lion Smelter, helping to stabilise plant processes. Responsibilities covered the full project lifecycle, from marketing, scoping and commercial coordination through planning, implementation support and commissioning. Control and IIT Systems Migration — Royal Bafokeng Platinum Mine Managed the complete migration of the control platform and other IIT systems at Royal Bafokeng Platinum Mine (RBPM), as an additional service within our APC integration role. This included planning, scheduling and coordination of in-house personnel, client teams and third-party integrators. Reporting Systems Managed reporting system implementation projects across multiple mining houses. Laboratory Integration — Nkomati Nickel Mine Managed the laboratory integration project at Nkomati Nickel Mine. Process Audits and Data Analysis Delivered process audit projects incorporating detailed data analysis for multiple mining houses.
Project Management
Brownfield and Greenfield Capital Projects — Platinum Group Metals Refinery. Project management and process control engineering for brownfield and greenfield capital projects within a Platinum Group Metals (PGM) refinery. Phase 1 — Control System Design and Implementation. • Design and detailed design of Process Control System (PCS) solutions for brownfield and greenfield circuits. • ISA-88-based regulatory control, sequence control and recipe management. • Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) and Site Acceptance Testing (SAT). Projects successfully completed across the following process areas: • PGM dissolution and preparation batch reactor processes. • PGM recovery processes. • Solvent extraction processes. • Materials handling. • Utilities. • Laboratory and batch process analysis. Phase 2 — System Upgrades and Continuous Improvement. • HAZOP and CHAZOP studies. • Upgrades to existing process control systems and solutions. • Continuous improvement of existing processes. • Control system upgrades, including simulation and testing. • Updating of Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs), including as-built documentation. • Compilation and updating of Process Design Bases (PDBs) and Process Control Bases (PCBs). • Maintenance of Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) systems. • Establishment and maintenance of system standards aligned with ISA-88 and ISA-95 principles. Projects successfully completed included: • Two-stage spillage evaporator: Control redesign, optimisation and commissioning. • Chlorate destruction: Optimisation of the new reactor circuit. • Ruthenium refining: Circuit optimisation. • Platinum and rhodium: Conversion of single-stage batch circuits to continuous control. • Rhodium insoluble metals: Effluent plant upgrade. • Iridium solvent extraction: Upgrade of the scrub acid and organic make-up circuit. • Platinum reduction: Ammonia scrubbing circuit upgrade. • Utilities: Upgrades to steam and condensate, ventilation and scrubbing circuits. Key Achievements: • Sustained plant availability and throughput through the implementation and maintenance of effective systems and operational support. • Successful implementation of all new business projects within the scope of responsibility. • Project delivery without safety incidents. • Effective budget and capital expenditure management. • Effective team management with low staff turnover.
Commissioning Management
Greenfield Capital Project — PGM Refinery Effluent Treatment Plant. U-Drive Process Control was appointed to fulfil the Senior Control Engineer role during the feasibility and design phases and the Commissioning Manager role during commissioning of a new Effluent Treatment Plant at a Platinum Group Metals (PGM) refinery. The scope included control system design and configuration, followed by commissioning and optimisation of the new plant in the refinery’s tank farm area. Process Units: • Three-stage and single-stage evaporator units with a crystalliser. • Centrifuges and plate-and-frame filters. • Effluent neutralisation and lime cake handling units. • Thickener and bagging plants. Project Responsibilities: • Commissioning planning and scheduling. • Management of cold and hot commissioning through to C4-level completion. • Commissioning team and budget management. • Alignment of plant designs with ISA-88 control structures and layouts, including sequence-layer recipe and phase-type control designs. • Control system design and testing, including Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) and Site Acceptance Testing (SAT). • Hazard and Operability Studies (HAZOP) and Control Hazard and Operability Studies (CHAZOP). • Compilation of Process Control Bases (PCBs) and control philosophies. • Handover of commissioned plant and final documentation to the owner’s team, including the commissioning closeout report.
Control Engineering
Brownfield and Greenfield Capital Projects — PGM Refinery. Control engineering experience across brownfield and greenfield capital projects within a Platinum Group Metals (PGM) refinery, covering plant upgrades, process debottlenecking, control system design, testing and commissioning. Scope of Responsibilities: • Plant, process and process control system upgrades and process debottlenecking. • Updating and marking up Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs). • Compilation of Process Control Bases (PCBs) and Process Design Bases (PDBs). • Preparation of Cost-Benefit Evaluations (CBEs) for in-house projects. • HAZOP and CHAZOP studies and risk assessments. • Design and testing of control sequences, recipes, and equipment module controls, followed by commissioning and handover. Process Areas: Projects successfully completed across the following process units: • Single-stage and two-stage evaporators. • Chlorine handling and distribution. • Solvent extraction. • Insoluble metals and rhodium treatment. • Values recovery. • PGM pressure and atmospheric dissolvers and metals preparation reactors. • Scrubbing systems. • Filtration systems, including glovebox, membrane press and Nutsche filters. • Utilities production and supply systems. Selected Projects and Achievements: Values Recovery Plant — Control System Redesign: Redesigned the complete Process Control System (PCS), covering the interlock matrix, PLC controls, higher-level sequence interface, and SCADA mimic layouts. Recommissioned the five main PGM recovery processes and integrated laboratory systems to provide analysis-based Key Performance Indicator (KPI) feedback. Integration with the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) enabled automatic sample requests at the relevant process phases. Laboratory results were then returned to the higher-level control sequences as analysis KPIs to support process decisions. Utilities Plants — Automatic Changeover and Distribution Control: Revised operating procedures and control sequences to introduce automatic changeover functionality in place of the existing duty/standby control approach. Updated make-up and supply sequences to improve utilities distribution control. Lime Recovery and Lime Cake Handling Plant — Design and Commissioning: Contributed to plant design as part of the design team, carried out the main control system design configuration and served as Commissioning Manager. The plant was handed over to the production department in March 2004 and subsequently operated at full design capacity.
CURRENT PROJECTS
Gold Plant Agglomerator — Instrumentation & Control Integration
West Africa | Project in Progress
U-Drive Process Control is delivering an instrumentation and control integration package for a gold processing plant’s agglomerator circuit in West Africa. The scope includes the supply of two moisture analysers and one Particle Size Analyser (PSA), together with regulatory control engineering and PLC/SCADA integration to incorporate these measurements into the plant’s control system.
Completed work includes equipment supply, Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) of the PLC/SCADA system and analysers, and pre-shipment preparation. The next planned milestones are site commissioning and Site Acceptance Testing (SAT), followed by final handover for production operation.
The project brings together U-Drive’s capabilities in equipment specification and supply, control engineering, system integration and project management, with commissioning support completing the package for the client.
