Success Stories

Large Chemical and Mining Firm: RFID Refines Copper Quality

Client:

Large Chemical and Mining Firm

Challenge:

Damaged stainless steel cathodes used in the copper refining process produced off-grade copper, resulting in higher costs and decreased revenue.

Solution:

CSC and a large chemical and mining firm client conducted a joint study to test RFID technology's ability to survive tank-house conditions, track and trace cathode performance, and monitor wear and tear.

Results:

RFID tags were read with greater than 95 percent accuracy among acid mist, high temperatures and short-circuiting, and performed for six months before requiring maintenance.

When one large chemical and mining firm needed a way to improve its copper refining capabilities, it teamed with CSC to conduct an innovative study of Radio Frequency ID (RFID) technology. The result: increased efficiency in copper refining and the production of higher-grade copper.

Prior to the study, damaged stainless steel cathodes, used in the refining process to extract copper, produced a lower grade of copper that proved to be costly. To ensure the quality of the cathodes, the plates were visually inspected, but there was no way to identify and track individual plates because identifying technologies, such as bar codes, couldn't withstand the acid corrosion.

The client wanted to explore whether RFID technology, which uses tags and readers to track people or objects via radio wave transmissions, could track the plates.

Interactive Application

RFID technology is commonly used for supply chain initiatives, but the lack of universal frequency standards that work across all countries still challenges global RFID implementations, according to the Forrester Collection March 2005 report, RFID: The Complete Guide.

CSC worked with its client to test the effectiveness of RFID in within a hostile environment that included acid mist in the air, water temperatures of 190 degrees Fahrenheit and short-circuiting. Two hundred RFID tags—embedded in one-inch protective capsules—and readers were implemented and left in production for six months.

The successful trial demonstrated that the tags and readers could survive for at least six months before requiring maintenance. The tags were read with greater than 95 percent accuracy, but a chief benefit of the project is the ability to track and maintain status data on the condition of the cathode. Damaged cathodes still exist in the tank house to a degree, but now repairs can be scheduled and managed more effectively.

Future Applications

With RFID technology functioning successfully at the client’s operation, the company is now in the process of building a pilot automated mine in one location and eventually a fully automated mine in another location that is expected to increase safety for workers on the job.

Additional ways to integrate RFID technology into mining are also in the works. CSC is developing a traffic management solution for vehicles in an underground mine, and track and trace applications for warehouses and people working underground. Currently, fewer errors result from the direct transmission of data into a database, so the technology is being used to manage training, payroll and the ability to grant access to specified areas.

Ultimately, RFID technology will at once improve safety outcomes, product quality and yield, while reducing the capital costs at the client’s plants.