Boliden (Mining and Metals, Norway)

A Well-Used Smelter Seeks New Strength
The smelter in Odda, Norway has been in operation since the 1920s. Boliden, the current owner, now employs the smelter to supply Europe’s steel industry with zinc. Always on the lookout for improvements for their customers, Boliden planned to reduce process bottlenecks and increase automation flexibility in their operations through a project named P200.
Maneuverability, accuracy, and planning experience were required to execute the automation and process improvements no matter the level of changes throughout the project. For the sake of customers and profits, extending the project beyond the schedule was not an acceptable option.

A Migration, an Upgrade, and a Boost in Output
Boliden was bold in their goals. Their choice of automation partner, Emerson, had to be just as bold in their execution. Immediately, Emerson gathered local and global resources to optimize the project execution strategy; the Emerson work cell was dedicated DeltaV™ distributed control system (DCS) migration: An outdated, non-Emerson control system was controlling many smelter areas, including the most critical– the roaster. Because that control system was leading to waste, Boliden scheduled a migration to the DeltaV DCS during a planned maintenance stop. Roaster migration had to be complete in ten days. DeltaV CHARMs helped accommodate all I/O changes and were installed in existing DCS cabinets. Software testing was performed upfront.
Upgrade to latest DCS software: Meanwhile in the leaching plant, an existing DeltaV DCS was operated from one large control room with many smaller remote control rooms. The network was Expertise Helps Accommodate Late Process Changes Boliden (Mining and Metals, Norway) complex. Boliden requested Emerson to complete the upgrade to the new DeltaV software version in a short eight-hour stop to the plant— including system shutdown, hardware swapping, and software adjustments. No problem. The dedicated Emerson work cell upgraded the full system and swapped 4500 I/O in two and a half hours.
Expand automation to boost production: As automation was added to manual areas of the facility, Boliden optimized the plant design through advances in techniques and technologies.

Ready for Another Hundred Years
Overall, a combination of local project execution, global support, and close partnership between Emerson and Boliden produced success and met the schedule deadlines. Thanks to improvements implemented across the facility in many systems and processes, Boliden increased Zinc production from 160 thousand tons to 200 thousand tons — a 20 percent increase in production.