Innomotics: a trusted partner for the mining industry

Innomotics is a prominent supplier of end-to-end solutions for the mining, cement, and other industries.

The company effectively meets its customers’ challenges at each process stage, from extraction to transportation to beneficiation with its comprehensive portfolio of solutions.

With eight factories on three continents as well as service staff in 49 countries, Innomotics can provide equipment and support its customers wherever they are in the world.

Through electrification, automation, and digitalization, the company wants to help its customers build the mines of the future that will contribute to the global fight against climate change.

Whether the customer needs to move minerals a few metres or tens of kilometers, Innomotics can design, implement, and support the operations of conveyor belts able to move thousands of tonnes per day.

When it comes to the transportation of bulk materials, Innomotics can power the mine winders, conveyor belts and electrified truck-trolley systems which can move minerals efficiently and sustainably from pit to port.

In 2012, working in partnership with ThyssenKrupp, Innomotics commissioned a gearless drive for the conveyor belt at the Antapaccay copper mine in Peru, one of the first such systems to be installed outside of Germany.

Located around 4,200 metres above sea level, the 6.5km belt can move around 5,000 tonnes per hour of ore, using just two bearings per drive, compared with more than 20 in a conventional drive. This means greater availability, reduced maintenance downtime, and lower operating costs.

As mining companies and others strive to reduce their carbon emissions, new technologies for the transportation of bulk materials will play a key role in these efforts. For example, Innomotics continues to offer its Electrification Truck-Trolley system which can be an efficient means of reducing fuel consumption in mine haul trucks, especially on steep uphill slopes.

However, given that the trucks themselves account for around 60% of the weight that they have to move — and therefore of the energy they consume — Innomotics believes that conveyor belt systems offer a much more efficient and sustainable method for moving bulk materials.

As well as providing the power to move bulk materials, Innomotics strives to offer technological solutions to help customers manage their processes more efficiently, sustainably and in greater safety. The company already offers a range of products and services in this space.

Innomotics’ Short Interval Control (SIC) platform helps mine managers stay on top of critical constraints that could hinder operations, using real-time information collected via sensors or entered by operators onto mobile devices. Whether the issue is related to personnel, materials, or equipment, once a constraint is detected, the system assesses feasible options and presents them to management for a final decision.

The company’s MAQ technology for advanced stockyard management allows operators to continuously monitor their inventory of bulk materials. With real-time 3D models that display both the quantity and quality of stockpiled material, users can track its movements from the time it is stacked to when it leaves the yard.

The Digital Twin technology allows customers to simulate the design and operation of their processing system before it is even built, experimenting with different designs and operating methods which can result in huge savings in capital expenditure, operating costs, and maintenance downtime.

A Digital Twin for a 13km new conveyor system at the Los Pelambres copper mine in Chile allowed the owner to identify several potential problems which it was able to resolve in time to ensure a smooth commissioning.

Digital Twins can also be used for training purposes. For example, operators at an iron ore plant in Turkey have used their digital twin to learn how to respond rapidly and effectively to unscheduled stoppages.

Innomotics has pioneered the use of Artificial Intelligence to help companies use its machinery more efficiently. In India, a mining equipment supplier has equipped its wagon tippler system with Innomotics’ Smart Mining Anomaly Detection solution, which provides customers with advanced warning of potential issues with the hydraulics.

Better able to plan preventative maintenance and service work, customers estimate that the technology has led to energy savings of around four hours per week.

From giant systems for handling bulk materials to cutting-edge technology for managing a business better, Innomotics is a trusted name for the global commodities industry.