Custom control solutions for SAG mills, ball mills, cyclones, and every associated grinding circuit process — developed through deep R&D access and built on fundamental control practices.
Most advanced control solutions — MPC, expert systems, neural networks — are layered on top of base-level control that doesn't work properly. The result is an advanced system constantly fighting a broken foundation.
We take the opposite approach. We study the grinding circuit at its most fundamental level, understand exactly what control is needed at the base, and make the bare-metal PID control work correctly. No fuzzy logic. No neural nets. No model predictive control. Just fundamental PID and standard control practices, applied with deep understanding.
With correct base-level control in place, higher-level systems can be layered on top effectively — if you even need them. Most of the time, you won't.
No other installation has had the same opportunity to study and learn what exact control is needed at the base level. We were given full R&D access to a major mining corporation's ball mill and SAG grinding circuits — and used that access to develop control strategies that produced documented step changes in production and recovery.
We co-authored and presented a conference paper on these grinding control strategies — work recognized as a genuinely new approach to an old problem.
Charge level management, power draw optimization, and feed rate control for consistent throughput and protection of mill components.
Precise control of ball charge and feed to maintain optimal grinding conditions and product size distribution.
Feed density, pressure, and flow control to maintain proper classification and maximize recovery of target particle sizes.
Precise water flow control throughout the circuit to maintain slurry density targets and optimize grinding efficiency.
Coordinated feed rate management across the circuit to balance throughput with product quality targets.
Step changes in production and recovery, well-documented by the client. The approach is transferable to any grinding process.
The control strategies we've developed aren't site-specific. They're built on fundamental understanding of how grinding circuits behave — physics, fluid dynamics, and process engineering. That means they transfer to any SAG or ball mill circuit, regardless of the specific ore body or equipment configuration.
This is the difference between a control system that was tuned to work at one site and one that was engineered to work on the underlying process. Ours is the latter.
Deep analysis of the grinding process at its most fundamental level — understanding every interaction between mill, cyclone, water, and feed.
Implement fundamental PID control that makes the bare metal work correctly. No shortcuts, no band-aids, no advanced systems masking broken basics.
Prove the control works under real operating conditions. Measure the results. Document the improvements.
With a solid foundation in place, advanced systems (MPC, expert control) can be added effectively — if the results justify the complexity.
If your grinding circuit control isn't delivering the results it should, let's talk about what's possible with a first-principles approach.