Mipac engineers “heat things up” at Kansanshi

Mipac’s engineers continue to support and optimise First Quantum Kansanshi copper smelter after successful ‘heat up’ in Zambia.

Mipac’s strong engineering team assisted the successful delivery of the 1.2Mtpa ISASMELT™ copper smelter project at the Zambian Kansanshi Mine site in record time.

Mipac’s scope of work involved design, configuration, procurement of 2,700 items and the commissioning of +10,000 I/O’s Siemens SIMATIC PCS7 plant-wide process control system (PWCS).

The PWCS included the following areas: Materials handling, ISASMELT™, Matte Settling Furnace, Pierce Smith Convertors, Anode Furnaces, Oxygen Plant, Acid Plant, Plant Services and Common Areas.

Mipac’s well-engineered and robust design was contributed to;
• Using AVEVA software to significantly lower engineering costs and improve the quality of deliverables
• Collaborating with First Quantum and specialist vendors during the software development phase
• Extensive FAT phase to minimise re-engineering prior to commissioning phase

“Mipac’s smooth commissioning of 5 control rooms and field equipment is attributed using our design engineers, involved throughout the project, to carry out commissioning at site,” says Don Robinson, Mipac Operations Manager.

“Our team were highly praised by First Quantum who requested one of our senior controls engineer to remain on-site to provide optimisation support.”

Philip Pascall, First Quantum’s Chairman and CEO, commented June 25th, 2015:
“We are very pleased with the performance of the smelter. The achievement of over 100% of nameplate capacity, in just three months from startup, is unprecedented. It is a credit to the design and project teams and illustrates the strong capabilities of the operations management and staff.”