Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy

Transactions of the Institutions of Mining and Metallurgy: Section C

ISSN: 0371-9553 (Print) 1743-2855 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ympm20

Automated scheduling and scientific management

of copper smelters

A. Navarra

To cite this article: A. Navarra (2016) Automated scheduling and scientific management
of copper smelters, Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy, 125:1, 39-44, DOI:
10.1179/1743285515Y.0000000018

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 Automated scheduling and scientific
management of copper smelters
A. Navarra*
The Altonorte Smelter implemented a daily scheduling algorithm in 2013, which has now been
generalised for all conventional copper smelters. It applies a combinatorial search, in which the
possible converter feeding sequences are evaluated using a greedy heuristic; the daily schedule
is then constructed using the heuristically optimal sequence. Depending on the mode of oper-
ation, the objective may be to maximise copper production, maximise profits or control con-
centrate stockpiles. This combinatorial greedy approach has been incorporated within discrete
event simulations, which mimic hundreds of days of operation, hence analysing alternate modes
Downloaded by [University of Sussex Library] at 20:48 05 June 2016

of operation. Automated scheduling is fundamental to the scientific management of copper

smelters, as scheduling parameters characterise the operational modes.
Keywords: Scheduling, Batch converting, Modes of operation, Discrete event simulation

Introduction indeed a defining feature of a conventional copper smel-

There are relatively few publications that describe the
scientific management of copper smelters (Guo, 2003;
Harjunkoski et al., 2008; Navarra and Acuña, 2013;
Navarra and Mendoza, 2013; Pradenas et al., 2006;
Pradenas et al., 2011). This may be surprising, con-
sidering that the viability of a smelter is directly affected
by its operational practices. The lapse in literature may
be due to an interdisciplinary barrier that separates
industrial and metallurgical engineers.
Indeed, many smelters apply manual scheduling tech-
niques for their short-term (daily) operations (Navarra
and Mendoza, 2013; Pradenas et al., 2006); the start and
finish times of operations are manually entered into the
computer information system (CIS), which then transmits
the resulting schedule to the control rooms. The resulting
schedules may not be optimal with respect to any par-
ticular objective; hence, they lack a scientific basis to pose
and evaluate alternate modes of operation. For instance, a
certain operational mode may be to maximise copper
throughput for a given number of crane motions; an
alternate mode may be to minimise crane motions while
maintaining a given level of copper throughput.
In 2013, the Altonorte Smelter followed the example set
by the Chuquicamata Smelter, to implement a scheduling
system that automatically coordinates the smelting fur-
naces with the downstream operations (Navarra and
Mendoza, 2013; Pradenas et al., 2006). Both cases involved
in house algorithm development and were independent of
each other. For other smelters to implement a similar
system, they would need to repeat much of the program-
ming effort, unless common features can be exploited.
Over 70% of copper smelters apply Peirce–Smith
converting (Kapusta, 2004; Price et al., 2009), which is
Universidad Catolica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile
*email anavarra@ucn.cl
ter. These smelters exhibit semidiscrete dynamics (Fig. 1),
as the furnace matte is fed into the converters (Fig. 2),
which form the so called converter aisle. Although the
matte is continually produced, it is sent to the converter
aisle using individual (discrete) ladles. These converters
function in parallel, transforming batches of matte into
blister copper. The converting aisle thus sets the rhythm
for downstream operations, including fire refining and
casting (Schlesinger et al., 2011).
Smelting furnaces can usually produce matte at a rate
that exceeds the immediate capacity of the converting
aisle. Moreover, the number of simultaneous converter
batches is often limited to two (Navarra and Mendoza,
2013; Pradenas et al., 2006), or to one (Ek and Olsson,
2009), to respect the offgas handling capacity. The
converter aisle is therefore a bottleneck on the flow of
copper (Dettmer, 2007). Much of the smelter operations
can be coordinated as a function of the converter sche-
dule (Fig. 3). A next step is to develop alternative modes
of operation, which respond to the changing plant and
market conditions (Guo, 2003). In this sense, the market
may be characterised by copper, energy and transpor-
tation prices, and perhaps other factors such as the
availability and price of concentrate, labour and con-
sumables (Navarra and Kapusta, 2009).
Copper smelters are fed by a variety of concentrates
and secondary feeds that have differing As, Sn, Bi and
Pb, as well as Au, Ag, and platinum group metals
(Schlesinger et al., 2011). Nonetheless, operators tend to
apply the same generic approach (flux composition,
blowing rates, oxygen enrichment, etc.), unless they are
adequately supported by the CIS (Pradenas et al., 2006).
A rigorous implementation of operational modes must
ultimately supply the operators with instructions,
including operational schedules.
At the beginning of a scheduling period, the CIS may
present several alternative schedules to the management
staff, which correspond to the different modes of

Ñ 201 6 Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and The AusIMM

Published by Taylor & Francis on behalf of the Institute and the AusIMM
Received 07 January 2015; accepted 04 September 2015 Mineral Processing and Extractive
DOI 10.1179/1743285515Y.0000000018 Metallurgy (Trans. Inst. Min Metall. C) 2016 VOL 125 NO 1 39
 Navarra Copper smelters
1 Interaction between smelting furnaces and Peirce–Smith converters creates semidiscrete dynamics
2 Matte is sent from smelting furnace into converter aisle
operation. The schedules should be computer generated,
automatically taking into account the current state of
the smelter (Navarra and Mendoza, 2013; Pradenas
et al., 2006). Moreover, the CIS should provide appro-
priate production and market data, in an under-
Downloaded by [University of Sussex Library] at 20:48 05 June 2016
standable and interactive format. The management staff
selects a computer generated schedule and makes final
adjustments before transmitting it to the operators.
The development of operational modes involves
thermochemical modelling, supplemented by laboratory
and plant data (Cardona et al., 2012), and possibly cost
modelling (Navarra and Kapusta, 2009). The resulting
information is integrated into a discrete event simulation
(DES) to analyse and refine the operational parameters
(Campbell and Reed, 2013; Campbell et al., 2013;
Coursol and Mackey, 2009).
Changes in operational practices, including major
capital investments, must be well justified. Even if en-
gineers and operators identify avenues for improvement,
the smelter often does not change. Without appropriate
decision making tools, the risk of an unwarranted
investment may be too great, especially if the existing
operations are already ‘acceptable’. Thus, management
science can bring new methodologies that help break the
status quo of copper smelters.
Combinatorial greedy scheduling of
converting aisle
Peirce–Smith converting is not suited for classical job
shop algorithms (Pinedo, 2008), as has been noted by
certain authors (Harjunkoski et al., 2008; Navarra and
Mendoza, 2013; Pradenas et al., 2006). In particular,
there is an overlap between the feeding of a converter
and the actual converting process (Fig. 4): the smelting
3 Converting schedule takes into account plant and market conditions, as well as mode of operation, and is used to construct
complete schedule
40 Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy (Trans. Inst. Min. Metall. C)
furnace sends an initial charge (four to six ladles) to
begin a batch within a converter, and continues to send
several more ladles to the same converter, before feeding
the next converter.
In its simplest form, the algorithm employed at the
Altonorte Smelter considers the following four restric-
tions in the construction of converting schedules
(Navarra and Mendoza, 2013):
(i) Batch initiation capacity: There is a minimum
time between the beginning of a converting batch
in one converter, and the beginning of a batch in
another converter.
(ii) Converter availability: There is a minimum time
between the completion of a batch in one con-
verter, and the beginning of the next batch within
the same converter.
(iii) Matte production capacity: There is a maximum
rate at which matte can be drawn from the
smelting furnace(s).
(iv) Offgas handling capacity: There is a maximum
number of simultaneous converting batches that
can be processed due to the limited offgas
handling capacity.
The four restrictions will be abbreviated as BIC, CA,
MPC and OHC respectively. These restrictions can be
extended; for example, Altonorte has extended CA to
consider planned stoppages (Navarra and Mendoza,
2013), i.e. there is a minimum time between the com-
pletion of a batch in a converter, and the beginning of a
maintenance operation in this converter. Additional
restrictions may be posed, depending on the needs of an
individual smelter.
The Chuquicamata and Altonorte Smelters both
apply a combinatorial search to evaluate possible con-
verter feeding sequences (Navarra and Mendoza, 2013;
Pradenas et al., 2006). Depending on the initial
conditions at the beginning of a schedule, and the nature
of the individual converters, it may be preferable to
processes batches in converters 1, 3, 2, 1, 3, 2, etc.,
instead of 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, for example.
Given a feeding sequence (i, j, k, ...), the proposed
algorithm applies a so called greedy heuristic to
construct and evaluate the corresponding schedule
(Navarra and Mendoza, 2013; Ruiza and Stützle, 2008).
2016 VOL 125 NO 1

4 Continued feeding of Converter i, even after converting process has begun; similarly for Converter j
In general, a greedy algorithm applies a unidirectional
traversal, always making decisions that maximise short-
term yield, ignoring the possibility that a short-term
sacrifice might lead to a net benefit (Cormen et al., 2001;
Ruiza and Stützle, 2008).
The method obtains the starting time of the first batch
t1, which is to be performed in converter i,
 various objectives, as well as the constraint parameters
t1 ¼ max tBIC
1 ; t1 ; t1 ; t1
CA MPC OHC
ð1Þ
where tBIC
1 is the earliest starting time for the first cycle
that would not violate the BIC restriction; likewise, tCA 1 ,
Downloaded by [University of Sussex Library] at 20:48 05 June 2016
tMPC
1 and tOHC
1 are the earliest starting times that would
not violate CA, MPC and OHC respectively. These in-
dividual times (tBIC CA MPC OHC
1 , t1 , t1 , t1 ) are programmed to
take into account the initial conditions that are carried
over from the previous scheduling period.
After the first batch has been placed in the Gantt
chart, the second batch is scheduled in converter j,
according to
 Sample computations
t2 ¼ max tBIC
2 ; t2 ; t2 ; t2
CA MPC OHC
ð2Þ
As before, tBIC CA
2 , t2 , t2
MPC
and tOHC
2 are the earliest
starting times for the second batch, not violating BIC,
CA, MPC and OHC respectively. However, these times
(tBIC CA MPC OHC
2 , t2 , t2 , t2 ) take into account the first batch
that had been previously determined, as well as the in-
itial conditions.
In general, the lth converting batch is scheduled to
begin in the predetermined converter, at time tl, which is
computed according to
 possible, while respecting the maximum smelting rate,
tl ¼ max tr1 ð3Þ
r[R
in which trl is the earliest starting time for the lth batch
that does not violate restriction r, taking into account
the previous batches 1, 2, ... (l21), as well as the initial
conditions. In the case of Altonorte (Navarra and
Mendoza, 2013), the set of restrictions R is given by
R ¼ {BIC, CA, MPC, OHC}. Other smelters may
consider a different set of restrictions.
The greedy construction operates over a range of time,
from tBegin to tEnd, which usually corresponds to a period
of 12 or 24 h. Figure 5 illustrates the traversal along a
Gantt chart, from left to right, placing n cycles such that
tBegin<t1<t2 <...<tn<tEnd. In particular, the final
batches are scheduled to begin during the current sche-
dule (Fig. 5d), but they may extend beyond tEnd; this
relates to the initial conditions of the following schedule.
The combinatorial greedy algorithm evaluates each
sequence in accordance to a particular objective.
The most elementary objective is to maximise copper
throughput. In this case, a sequence is evaluated by
counting the total number of ladles that are processed
within the scheduling horizon. A more sophisticated
Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy (Trans. Inst. Min. Metall. C)
Navarra Copper smelters
objective would be to maximise profits, hence consider-
ing operational costs, such as oxygen consumption,
offgas handling and crane motions. Certain objectives
may be to maximise the consumption of a particular feed
(e.g. a high arsenic concentrate) in order to control
stockpiles. In general, a smelter may define several
modes of operation, which are distinguished by the
(Navarra and Acuña, 2013).
The combinatorial greedy algorithm identifies the best
sequence for the given operational mode. This sequence
is then used to produce the schedule, which is said to be
‘heuristically optimal’. This approach does not guaran-
tee a truly optimal schedule, because it does not consider
tactical pauses, nor does it consider variable thermo-
chemical parameters. Nonetheless, it is a starting point
for more advanced optimisation techniques, as discussed
in the final section of this paper.
It is often unclear how much oxidation should be per-
formed within the smelting furnace, rather than the
converters, i.e. it is unclear what the matte grade should
be. The following simulations compare mode A, which
can supply three ladles per hour of low grade matte, and
mode B, which can supply two ladles per hour of high
grade matte (Table 1). Naturally, mode B has shorter
converting times (Table 2).
In this case, the scheduling objective is the same for
both modes: to convert as many ladles of matte as
and never having more than two simultaneous blows.
Additionally, there must always be at least 1 h that
separates the beginning of a batch in one converter, with
the beginning of a batch in any other converter.
For maintenance purposes, one converter is always
left deactivated, which rotates every 24 h scheduling
period. The computations consider only repeating
converting sequences that include the three active con-
verters. [Repeating sequences are commonly applied for
copper converting because they tend to provide robust
schedules; if a converter experiences a problem during a
batch, there is ample time to resolve this problem before
its next batch. Incidentally, the Altonorte Smelter
usually applies repeating sequences (Navarra and Men-
doza, 2013), even though the scheduling algorithm can
be set to arbitrary sequences.]
Converter 1 is larger than the others, thereby con-
suming more ladles of matte in each batch, and requiring
longer converting times (Table 2). For simplicity, all
cycle times are assumed to follow a Gaussian distri-
bution, although the computational approach may be
adapted to a wide selection of other distributions
(Kelton et al., 2010). From preliminary computations, a
2016 VOL 125 NO 1 41
 Navarra Copper smelters

5 Greedy construction of converting cycle, as depicted in Gantt chart

Downloaded by [University of Sussex Library] at 20:48 05 June 2016

coefficient of variation 0.1 resulted in Gantt charts that
are typical of actual operations (Ek and Olsson, 2009).
Of course, the technique presented in this paper is
readily adaptable to observed plant data.
Following the converting cycles, the batches of blister
copper are coupled together, so that each couple forms a
single fire refining batch, which is a common industrial
practice. There are always two identical refining fur-
naces, functioning in parallel. Each furnace has an
expected fire refining rate of 100 T Cu h21, following a
Gaussian distribution with a standard deviation of 20 T
Cu h21. Such a large standard deviation is typical of
smelters that have not installed a converting end point
control system (Prietl et al., 2005).
To simulate the system described in Tables 1 and 2,
the combinatorial greedy algorithm has been im-
plemented within Rockwell Arena; this is a common
DES software that has previously been used for smelter
analysis (Coursol and Mackey, 2009). The scheduling
algorithm has been programmed using Arena’s internal
implementation of VBA (Seppanen, 2000).
The DES model considers two types of entities. First,
a single entity represents an extensible Gantt chart of the
converter operations. This Gantt entity is created at time
Table 1 Matte production
Grade Copper per ladle Max. production rate
Mode A Low 10 T 3 ladles h21
Mode B High 12 T 2 ladles h21
Table 2 Converter production
Converter
1 2 3 4
Initial charge (ladles) 7 4 4 4
Total charge (ladles) 10 6 6
Preparation time (h) 1.5 1 1
Expected converting time* for mode A (h) 8 6 6 6
Expected converting time* for mode B (h) 7 5 5 5
* Assume a Gaussian distribution with coefficient of variation
of 0.1.
zero and cycles through the top row of Fig. 6. The daily
schedule is produced as the entity passes through the
VBA block, and the subsequent submodel uses sto-
chastic simulation to mimic the actual daily operations.
The entity then waits until the next scheduling event, as
a copy of the converter Gantt information is used to
simulate the downstream operations. (The second row of
Fig. 6 is thus a standard use of Arena, in which entities
represent refining batches. Once again, each refining
batch is composed of two converting batches.)
Figure 7 compares a simulated scheduling period of
mode A to one of mode B. The black lines represent the
scheduled production for the given period, whereas the
shaded bars represent the actual production. The
difference between the scheduled and actual production
is due to the probabilistic variation in converting times
(Table 2), as can be observed in actual plant data
(Ek and Olsson, 2009).
For both modes, converter 1 has a batch from the 149th
day that extends into the 150th day; additionally, mode A
has a carryover from converter 2. Indeed, the combina-
torial greedy algorithm uses these batches to define the
initial conditions for the 150th scheduling period.
In Fig. 7, mode A exhibits a 97.6% utilisation of the
offgas handling equipment. There are only two intervals,
from 13.2 to 14.1 h and from 23.7 to 24.0 h, in which a
single batch is being processed; during these brief times,
the overall throughput is limited by the matte pro-
duction, instead of the offgas handling. For mode B,
there are seven different periods in which the matte
production is the limiting factor, corresponding to an
81.4% utilisation of the offgas handling equipment. This
comparison is reaffirmed in Table 3, showing that mode
B does not fully utilise the offgas capacity.
Table 3 summarises the results of 300 simulated days,
using randomly generated initial conditions (Navarra
and Mendoza, 2013); 20 replicas were performed on
each of the two modes, showing that mode B produces
6
*15% more copper anodes than mode A. In both cases,
1 the utilisation of the refining furnaces is remarkably low;
scheduling algorithms may be designed to anticipate low
usage of refining furnaces (Navarra and Mendoza, 2013;
Pradenas et al., 2011), to decide when to deactivate a
furnace, hence to control operating costs.

42 Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy (Trans. Inst. Min. Metall. C) 2016 VOL 125 NO 1

6 Simulation of Peirce–Smith converting and downstream operations, as implemented in ArenaH.
Downloaded by [University of Sussex Library] at 20:48 05 June 2016
7 Simulation of 150th scheduling period, under modes A and B
Table 3 Results from 300 simulated productions days, 20 replicas
Anode production (thousands of tons) Utilisation of offgas handling equipment/% Utilisation of refining furnaces/%
Mode A 176.0¡1.2 97.5¡0.2
Mode B 201.6¡0.7 81.3¡0.2
Mode B is far more productive than mode A, even
though it does not fully utilise the offgas capacity. This type
of observation is counter to conventional wisdom, which
would expect a positive correlation between copper pro-
duction and offgas utilisation. This is not always true in
practice, however, due to operational dynamics, and sec-
ondary phenomena such as offgas dilution (Navarra and
Kapusta, 2009). Furthermore, a converting strategy is
generally suboptimal if it does not simultaneously coordi-
nate upstream operations (drying, smelting, etc.), down-
stream operations (refining, casting, etc.) and ancillary
equipment (offgas handling, slag cleaning, etc.).
Future work
Computerised scheduling is fundamental to the manage-
ment of copper smelters. This insight can be used to revisit
previous approaches, such as the ‘smart smelter concept’
(Guo, 2003) and the ‘profit adviser’ (Navarra and Kapusta,
2009). The DES can include features that are of particular
interest to individual smelters, including unscheduled
events (Campbell et al., 2013), such as equipment break-
downs, irregular feeds and mitigating tactics.
Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy (Trans. Inst. Min. Metall. C)
Navarra Copper smelters
10.2¡0.1
11.6¡0.2
As an alternative to combinatorial greedy scheduling,
a more advanced approach has been proposed, which
hybridises constraint programming (CP) and mixed
integer linear programming (MILP) (Navarra and
Acuña, 2013; Maravelias and Grossmann, 2004), hence
to harmonise the thermochemistry with the operational
dynamics. The CP-MILP approach can sustain a rich
description of operational modes, coordinating key
operating costs, such as oxygen injection and combus-
tibles (Navarra and Kapusta, 2009). Nonetheless, the
efficacy of CP-MILP hybrids depends on internal
heuristics to rapidly identify and discard suboptimal
solutions. For this purpose, it is useful to incorporate
the combinatorial greedy algorithm into a CP-MILP
hybrid.
The approach demonstrated in this paper is suffi-
ciently general to be adapted to all conventional copper
smelters. Moreover, the concepts of automated sche-
duling and scientific management can be adapted to
other metallurgical systems. The author of this paper is
committed to working with metal producers, as well as
related suppliers, consulting firms and information
systems specialists.
2016 VOL 125 NO 1 43
 Navarra Copper smelters
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