Application of computers in copper processing

Economical operation of copper processing requires strengthening of strategies, such as increasing production capacities, reducing cost of production, improving product quality, maximising by-product recovery, enforcing environmental regulations, and implementing energy conservation. For all these, improvement in mining techniques and process modifications, are essential. With the advent of microprocessor based technology, copper processing industries are progressively moving from manual control to automatic systems. The enhanced capabilities of the new generation of technology has now made it possible to integrate several production processes within one informational system for which the application of a process computer in copper processing is also receiving wider acceptance. The paper identifies the application areas in computer processing in general, and reports on the work undertaken in the Khetri and Ghatsila units