Analysing the business impact of vertical roller technology in the mining sector

Abstract

In the mining industry, higher production has an advantage in terms of costs. The higher the production, the lower the unit cost of production. Fixed costs in mining industries are mostly associated with direct production costs and manpower costs, including overtime. Unexpected vertical roller mill downtime has a huge impact on business profitability. Despite the beneficial effect on profits by surging commodity prices and numerous cost-cutting exercises, mining businesses are under pressure. The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the mining business worldwide. Restriction protocols in the mining business caused production to be shut down across multiple markets. Vertical roller mill (VRM) originated from Japan and was designed by Tower Mill Kobuta Corporation in the 1950s. Vertical roller mill downtime has a huge impact on a business. Downtime creates direct costs to businesses, such as charges on late deliveries to customers and sometimes, if a contract is in place, customers have the right to sue the business. In the case of downtime, profits can be lost due to substitution products, low quality, or the frequent need for vertical roller mill repairs. Reliability-centred maintenance (RCM) is a tool that identifies productive and effective preventative maintenance tasks for any specific piece of equipment with specific standard working instructions, for setting up intervals between maintenance activities. Equipment spare parts are crucial for every business to ensure the smooth operation of critical equipment. In the mining industry, critical spares are kept to reduce the financial and commercial cost of downtime. The objective of predictive maintenance is simply to warrant proactive scheduling of remedial work and prevent unexpected equipment downtime. Accurate results can only be obtained when the equipment is running. This can be achieved by connecting sensors to the equipment to record operating metrics such as temperature and control voltage to give warning of possible future failures. Condition monitoring is critical for the success of a preventive maintenance programme. When condition monitoring is implemented successfully, the preventive maintenance programme runs smoothly.