Schneider Electric and AVEVA have unified Vale mining operations to enhance safety and sustainability. Vale is now able to consolidate, centralize, and remotely monitor operations throughout its Mariana and Itabira complexes in Brazil thanks to a combination of AVEVA and Schneider Electric software, technology, and mining domain experience.
Vale is one of the world’s top five mining firms. The world’s biggest producer of iron ore, pellets, and nickel employs approximately 170,000 people in 38 countries and is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. Vale’s Mariana Complex and Itabira Complex, both in Minas Gerais, Brazil, are two of the company’s largest iron ore producing locations. More than 75 percent of the output data from Vale’s Minas Gerais mining activities are accounted for by the complexes combined.
While digitization was initially used to enhance safety through remote operations, it is now crucial to improving efficiency and sustainability in the mining industry. Vale will be able to integrate operations across many locations and modernise its previous system to one that can remotely operate all of the various technologies in each mining plant as a result of the cooperation. Importantly, the remote management system allows Vale to have fewer specialists on-site, which improves safety and lowers operating costs while also substantially boosting energy efficiency and, as a result, sustainability.
Schneider Electric and AVEVA were chosen by Vale for their technological excellence and visibility. Due to their vendor-agnostic nature, they offer a great level of flexibility, making it simple to combine different technologies across numerous sites.
“We are constantly looking to improve safety, efficiency and sustainability, not just now but also for the future,” said Paulo Henrique Fontes Coura, Senior Automation Leader, Vale. “Schneider Electric and AVEVA have become an integral part of that journey. Rather than simply offering the software, they provided a complete, bespoke end-to-end service helping us optimize at every turn. This included training, support, and advice throughout.”
“The collaboration between our companies has created something much greater than the sum of its parts,” said Gilberto da Cunha Vieira, Electrical and Automation Engineer Leader, Vale. “We are enormously grateful to Schneider Electric and AVEVA for bringing our facilities together.”
EcoStruxure Control Expert – Asset Link, which combines AVEVA System Platform and Schneider Modicon M580, was used by Schneider Electric to offer visibility and integrate operations for Vale. Vale’s management now get detailed insights without having to manually transfer any intelligence thanks to the technology’s ability to incorporate data straight into the system. Vale may now establish a master operations centre and handle anything remotely by combining this data. This increases operating efficiency and reduces the number of workers on-site, resulting in a substantial increase in safety.
Other outcomes include:
“In today’s world, information is imperative,” said Rob Moffitt, President – Mining, Minerals and Metals, Schneider Electric. “It drives safety, sustainability, and profitability for those able to use it successfully. Iron production is essential to all our lives, providing steel for the automotive and construction industries around the world. It is vital that a sector upon which we rely can run efficiently, safely and sustainably. The system we have created for Vale alongside AVEVA is vital to this process. We look forward to seeing Vale unlock its potential to understand, manage and enhance its operations across Brazil.”
“Mining operations are data-rich environments where digital transformation can drive sustainability and productivity gains for improved asset utilization and enhanced value optimization,” commented Marc Ramsay, Vice President, Global Strategic Partners, AVEVA. “Together with Schneider Electric EcoStruxure, AVEVA System Platform supports Vale in realizing the mines of the future through contextualized operations built on a collaborative, standards-based foundation that unifies people, processes, and assets across all of Vale’s facilities for continuous operational improvement and real-time decision assistance.”
