Flotation banks
Read grade, recovery and froth condition per cell seconds after a change and act before the assay lands. Metric: recovery and grade prediction accuracy against assay, then recovery gain against the baseline.
Frothixagent.grade_froth
Solutions
Start where the recovery is.
Every concentrator already measures recovery, grade, energy per tonne, reagent per tonne and water per tonne. Orebex lands on one of those numbers, on one circuit, with a baseline agreed in writing, and expands when it moves.
Illustrative scenario: Line 1 · SAG and ball circuit, rougher bank 2 · copper porphyry blend, one shift, one approval gate
By outcome
Six wedges, each with a metric the plant already has
The first paid pilot targets one of these. The metric column is what the pilot would be judged on.
SAG and ball circuits
Hold P80 as the blend changes at the least kilowatt-hours per tonne, with moves rehearsed on the twin. Metric: energy per tonne and P80 stability against the baseline.
Grindexagent.crush_grind
Rougher and cleaner banks
Dose collector, frother and depressant against the live froth and grade read, under metallurgist approval. Metric: recovery gain and reagent per tonne against the baseline.
Floatexagent.float_reagent
Whole concentrator
Solve recovery, throughput, energy and water as one objective and hand each agent its targets. Metric: recovery, energy and water per tonne against the plant baseline.
Recovexagent.throughput_recovery
Thickeners and filters
Hold underflow density and overflow clarity and recover water as the circuit changes. Metric: water recovered per tonne and concentrate moisture against the baseline.
Platformagent.thicken_dewater
Whole concentrator
Rehearse grind, reagent and air schemes on the twin before the shift, discard candidates that breach a constraint, and hand validated targets to the agents. Metric: prediction error against the shift's actual grade, recovery and throughput.
Oretwintwin.oretwin
Where it pays
Four loops, four metrics
Orebex is not a dashboard. Each agent closes a loop a concentrator already measures in recovery points, kilowatt-hours per tonne, reagent per tonne and water per tonne. The tables show what each loop watches and what it is allowed to move.
Grade and recovery
See the froth before the assay does
Froth cameras, online XRF and particle-size sensors are fused at the edge into a live estimate of grade, recovery, froth condition and P80 per cell. Frothix predicts where recovery is heading seconds after a change and publishes early warnings the control agents act on, instead of a lab result hours later.
- Grade and recovery predicted continuously, labelled later by the assay
- Froth collapse and mineralogy shifts flagged before they cost recovery
- Every read tied to the grind, reagent and air state behind it
agent.grade_froth SUCCEEDED
| Signal | Watches | Moves |
|---|---|---|
| Froth condition | Camera banks, 8 to 24 per bank | Published to Floatex and Recovex |
| Grade and recovery | Online XRF plus froth model | Early warning, targets |
| P80 | Particle-size analyzer | Published to Grindex |
Grind and energy
Grind to the size flotation needs, not the curve
Mill load, power, feed rate and water are read with Frothix's P80. Grindex estimates ore hardness from the load and power signatures and moves feed, water and cyclone settings so liberation size holds as the blend changes, at the least kilowatt-hours per tonne, with every move validated on the twin first.
- Over-grinding soft ore and under-liberating hard ore both caught
- Energy per tonne priced on every move
- Grind moves rehearsed on the twin before they apply
agent.crush_grind SUCCEEDED
| Signal | Watches | Moves |
|---|---|---|
| P80 | Particle-size analyzer | Feed rate, cyclone water |
| Mill load and power | Mill telemetry | Feed rate, speed where available |
| Ore hardness | Estimated from load and power | Scheme candidates ranked on the twin |
Reagent, air and froth
Hold each cell at its best point as the feed drifts
Collector, frother and depressant dosing, air and pulp level are controlled per cell against the live froth and grade read. Floatex holds the grade and recovery trade-off the plan asked for, trims air and level inside the envelope, and routes any reagent-scheme change to the metallurgist until the ore type is characterised.
- Air and level moved inside the envelope
- Reagent-scheme changes supervised by a named metallurgist
- Reagent per tonne logged per decision
agent.float_reagent SUCCEEDED
| Signal | Watches | Moves |
|---|---|---|
| Froth stability | Frothix per cell | Air rate, pulp level |
| Concentrate grade | Online XRF | Collector and depressant dose, under approval |
| Tailings grade | Online XRF | Frother dose, air, under approval |
Whole plant
One objective for recovery, throughput, energy and water
Grinding chases power, flotation chases recovery and sustainability chases water. Recovex solves them as one problem against the plan's constraints and hands each control agent its targets, recomputed as the feed, the constraints and the metal price change.
- Four local goals, one plant policy
- Targets handed to agents, never actuators directly
- Losing candidates and their scores kept in the run record
agent.throughput_recovery SUCCEEDED
| Signal | Watches | Moves |
|---|---|---|
| Recovery and grade | Frothix, assays | Targets to Floatex |
| Energy per tonne | Mill and plant meters | Targets to Grindex |
| Water per tonne | Thickener and plant meters | Targets to Thicken-and-Dewater |
Commodities
Where concentrators start
Copper, gold, lithium, nickel and zinc, iron ore and rare earths. Most plants pick one circuit and one wedge, prove the number, then expand.
CopperBeachhead, high throughput
Copper
Porphyry copper concentrators with instrumented SAG and ball circuits and rougher banks. Frothix and Floatex on the rougher bank where a recovery point is already counted in metal.
GoldRecovery value
Gold
Gold flotation and gravity circuits where a recovery point is worth the most per tonne. Frothix on the flotation bank first, Grindex on the mill as the energy case lands.
LithiumNew plants, new ore
Lithium
Spodumene concentrators ramping on variable feed. Oretwin to rehearse blends and schemes before the shift, Floatex on reagent control.
Nickel and zincReagent and grade
Nickel and zinc
Sulphide flotation with tight concentrate specifications and depressant chemistry. Floatex and Frothix on the cleaner bank with the metallurgist's approval gates.
Iron ore and rare earthsEnergy and separation
Iron ore and rare earths
Grinding, classification and magnetic or gravity separation where energy per tonne dominates. Grindex first, then the classification and dewatering agents in the Concentrator tier.
Run timeline · scenario
One scenario run, step by step
Every Orebex run is an ordered, inspectable sequence. This is run_4b9e27 on Line 1 · SAG and ball circuit, rougher bank 2 · copper porphyry blend. Scenario completes in 10 steps with one approval gate. P80 held at 148 µm as the blend hardened, froth stability recovered on rougher bank 2 after an air trim, a collector-dose change was approved by the shift metallurgist, predicted recovery held inside the plan, lot C-20931 released with full genealogy.
run_4b9e27
Line 1 · SAG and ball circuit, rougher bank 2 · copper porphyry blend
illustrative scenario
SUCCEEDED
-
01
ingest.shift
SUCCEEDED
0.7 s
Concentrator Orchestrator · Pulled the shift plan from the concentrator MES: copper porphyry blend B-14, P80 target 150 µm, concentrate grade at or above 25% Cu, recovery target per the geometallurgy model, energy and water budgets. Locked the operating envelope for the blend.
-
02
twin.simulate
SUCCEEDED
58 s
Concentrator Twin · Simulated 32 candidate grind, air and reagent schemes on the as-run twin for the hardening blend, ranked on predicted recovery, concentrate grade, kWh per tonne and water per tonne. Two candidates breached the thickener bed limit and were discarded.
-
03
grind.setpoint
SUCCEEDED
3 m 40 s
Crush-and-Grind · SAG-1 feed trimmed 3% and cyclone water raised as load and power signatures read a harder feed. P80 from the particle-size analyzer held at 148 µm against the 150 µm target; mill power stayed inside the energy budget.
-
04
froth.read
SUCCEEDED
continuous
Grade-and-Froth · Twelve froth cameras and the online XRF on rougher bank 2 fused at the edge. Froth stability on cells 3 and 4 fell as the blend hardened; predicted recovery drifted 0.4 points below plan. Early warning published to the control agents.
-
05
approve.human
APPROVAL
1 m 12 s
Concentrator Orchestrator · Scheme #7 raises collector dose 6% on rougher bank 2, above the standing reagent scheme. Reagent-scheme changes stay supervised on this blend, so the step was held for the shift metallurgist and approved at 07:19:44.
-
06
float.dose
SUCCEEDED
2 m 05 s
Float-and-Reagent · Approved collector dose applied with an air trim of 4% down on cells 3 and 4 inside the envelope. Froth stability recovered within eight minutes; predicted recovery returned to plan with concentrate grade read at 25.6% Cu.
-
07
classify.cyclone
SUCCEEDED
42 s
Separate-and-Classify · One cyclone brought online in cluster 1 as feed density rose with the hardness change, holding overflow size and circulating load inside the plan.
-
08
dewater.thickener
SUCCEEDED
continuous
Thicken-and-Dewater · Tailings thickener TH-2 flocculant dose trimmed as bed pressure rose; underflow density held and overflow clarity stayed inside the water-recovery target.
-
09
optimise.targets
SUCCEEDED
18 s
Throughput-and-Recovery · Whole-plant targets recomputed for the hardened blend: feed rate, P80, air and reagent targets handed to the control agents with recovery, grade, energy and water inside the budget. The losing candidates and their scores are in the run record.
-
10
lot.release
SUCCEEDED
1 m 30 s
Quality-and-Conformance · Concentrate lot C-20931 released: genealogy written (blend, grind record, reagent and air moves, froth and grade reads, approvals, dewatering record, assays as they land) and dispositioned against the concentrate spec with cited evidence for the metallurgist's sign-off.
Who it is for
Built for the people who run the concentrator
We have no customer quotes to show yet and will not invent any. These are the three roles in a concentrator we build for, and the problems they bring to the first meeting.
Owns recovery, throughput, grade, energy and water, and cost per tonne.
What this person is dealing with today
- Fixed setpoints and periodic assays that let recovery drift and metal walk out in the tailings
- Enormous energy, water and reagent consumption eroding cost and licence to operate
- A severe, remote, retiring metallurgist and operator workforce that cannot continuously optimise
Owns grind, flotation, reagent and geometallurgy strategy, process windows and recovery.
What this person is dealing with today
- Grind-size drift that over-grinds or under-liberates
- Reagent, air and froth errors that sacrifice grade or recovery
- Feed-grade, hardness and mineralogy variability that destabilise the circuit
Owns energy, water, tailings and environmental compliance and licence to operate.
What this person is dealing with today
- Grinding as the site's largest electricity load, run on fixed curves
- Water per tonne and tailings governance under tightening constraints
- No shared record tying every control move to its energy, water and reagent effect
Autonomy
Four levels, set per agent and per tag
A concentrator does not go from manual to unattended in one step. Orebex makes the level explicit, auditable and reversible at any time. The first release runs shadow mode, then assist mode, then bounded autonomy on low-risk grinding and flotation loops. Reagent-scheme changes stay supervised until the ore type is characterised.
| Level | What the agent does | What the human does | Where it sits in a pilot |
|---|---|---|---|
| L1 · Shadow | Reads froth, analyzer, particle, mill, flotation, dewatering, robot and MES signals; predicts and recommends; writes nothing | Runs the circuit as today; compares predictions to assays and metallurgist outcomes | Shadow mode, baseline measured first |
| L2 · Assist | Proposes grind, reagent, air, froth and dewatering moves with evidence, confidence, envelope and rollback path | Approves each action in the review console | Assist mode, the remainder of a 90 to 120 day pilot |
| L3 · Bounded | Executes pre-approved low-risk grinding and flotation loop moves: feed, water, air, level, flocculant, cyclones online, inside APC, DCS and envelope limits | Approves reagent-scheme changes and lot release | Graduated autonomy, after audited accuracy and ROI |
| L4 · Constrained auto-control | Supervised reagent-scheme adaptation for characterised ore types, across circuits and sites | Sets the envelope; reviews the shift record and the evaluation results | Planned; after golden-dataset evaluation, twin validation and metallurgist sign-off |
Pricing
Priced per circuit, per plant, per group
Land on one workflow with a measured baseline. Expand by circuit, area, concentrator and autonomy level. Outcome components are available on recovery, energy, water and reagents. Annual prepay carries a 15 to 20% discount.
Comminution or flotation control, or grade sensing, for one circuit. For concentrators validating ROI on the wedge.
- One circuit, one agent module
- Plant-edge inference node included
- APC, DCS and sensor reads, guarded writes
- Run log, audit trail, lot genealogy
- Business-hours support
The whole plant: crush and grind, float and reagent, separate and classify, thicken and dewater, grade and froth, throughput and recovery, circuit and takt, robotic handling and the twin.
- All control agents on every circuit
- Froth-vision and analyzer fusion on every bank
- Whole-plant optimisation and circuit stabilisation
- Robotic sampling and handling
- As-run concentrator twin
- 24/7 support, quarterly model review
Multi-site mining groups standardising on Orebex, with custom ore, mineralogy and recovery models.
- Multi-site fleet management
- Custom ore, mineralogy and recovery models
- Plant edge fleet with on-prem option
- Group autonomy policy and approval chains
- SLAs, SSO and RBAC, dedicated engineer
FAQ
Straight answers
The questions processing managers, metallurgists and sustainability leads ask in the first meeting.
Yes, but only within an explicit tag allow-list with per-tag rate and magnitude limits, inside the operating envelope for the blend, and only at the autonomy level your plant has set. Design partners start in shadow mode, where Orebex writes nothing. Reagent-scheme changes stay supervised by a named metallurgist until the ore type is characterised.
Control returns to the APC or DCS last known-good state. Orebex is a supervisory layer on top of the control systems and interlocks you already run, never a replacement for them, so an outage degrades the circuit to its current way of running, not to a stop. The edge is designed to run fail-safe through a network outage.
Advisory recommendations start from the twin and the shift plan in the first weeks. Froth, grade, recovery and grind-response prediction improve as circuit history and assay-labelled outcomes accumulate per ore type. The compute plan sizes training at 2,000 to 8,000 GPU-hours per commodity model family once partner data exists, a design target.
Only if you choose cloud training. Ore-body data, geometallurgy models, reagent schemes, process models and recovery records are isolated per tenant and never used to train another customer's models. A fully on-prem deployment at the plant edge is available for remote and IP-sensitive sites, and federated learning across sites is planned and waits on data-rights agreements.
You are, the same as with any control strategy, which is why every write is policy-checked, bounded, logged and reversible, and why anything above your risk threshold waits for a named approver. The audit log records the request, the evidence, the envelope applied and the human decision.
A paid pilot of 90 to 120 days on one grinding or flotation circuit, scoped to a single wedge with a success metric written into the order form: recovery gain, energy per tonne saved, water reduction or reagent per tonne. The first weeks baseline recovery, energy and water in shadow mode from your own assays and meters.
Get started
Name the circuit that costs you the most
Start with one grinding or flotation circuit and one measurable baseline. A paid pilot on froth-vision recovery control, grind-size energy or reagent dosing shows the number before you commit further.