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Fast Forward to the Future with the BASF Intelligent Mine
Fast Forward to the Future with the BASF Intelligent Mine
By Ken Plozza Head of Global Digitization – Mining at BASF
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While it’s been some time since many of us have used a BASF cassette tape to listen to our favourite tune, the story of BASF’s humble cassette tape remains a relevant example of BASF’s dedication to innovation, its ability to find the right partners, and to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to technology.
Before mp3s, CDs and DVDs, the tape cassette was ‘king’ for recording sound and video. BASF was one of the original players in the cassette business, dating back to 1932, when it partnered with Germany's AEG to research and develop cassettes and cassette players based on the first magnetic soundrecording device. In fact, it was a BASF tape that recorded the first concert in 1936, when the London Philharmonic Orchestra played in BASF’s hometown of Ludwigshafen. Over the following decades, BASF introduced the first hard-coated tapes
– Damien Caby, Senior Vice President, Oilfield & Mining Solutions, BASF
in 1950, the first long-play tapes in 1953 and the first chrome tapes in 1971. BASF’s innovation and ability to identify the right partner paid off when the emerging music industry chose BASF technology to record master tapes. Later, with the advent of the personal cassette, once again BASF was well placed to be the ‘go to’ brand for your music collection. When the video market then exploded, the BASF magnetic tape was the industry leader.
As the music and video industry developed it was clear that magnetic tape technology had a finite life, so BASF invested and partnered to produce ultraviolet sensitive dyes suitable for the emerging CD and DVD markets. As this market matured, BASF then redirected their research and development to find novel chemical solutions in the manufacturing of hard memory devices like USBs.
As a result of this continuous innovation, BASF became a household name practically the world over, and the reason a chemical company is remembered for these humble tapes!
So, what do BASF tapes have to do with the company’s latest digital mining offering? The ability to innovate, think ahead of the curve and push the boundaries of what is possible today, for tomorrow.
In 2018, BASF’s mining team was ready to embrace the full potential of Industry 4.0, and found the right partner in IntelliSense.io. Together, they developed cutting edge technology combining BASF chemical and mining process knowledge with IntelliSense’s industry-leading advanced data analytic solutions.
The result is the ‘BASF Intelligent Mine’, powered by IntelliSense.io. There are two parts to the technology: the first is a real-time, decisionmaking platform (brains. app) which is powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) that can be configured for individual sites, typically within three months. The second is a portfolio of optimisation applications which predict and simulate future performance, generating process-specific recommendations for insights and optimisation. As multiple applications link together, customers can generate efficiency gains throughout the entire mine-to-market value chain.
The BASF Intelligent Mine approach is different to others in this field. We offer ‘ready to go’ digital solutions that are ready to be deployed now. Over six years have been invested in building physics-based and machine learning assets and models for mining-specific processes for different commodities, spanning base and precious metals, coal, iron ore, mineral sands and rare earths.
Our software applications cover stockpile, crushing, grinding and milling, flotation, thickening, heap leach and pipeline pumping. These applications come with in-built process data inputs, outputs, and cause and effect relationships. Most importantly, our applications have been developed by mining industry experts. We have a combined team of chemical and mineral processing professionals, software engineers and data scientists working together to support your AI needs.
We are delivering value to mining operations worldwide from Chile, South Africa, Kazakhstan and now Australia.
Like their famous tapes, with the Intelligent Mine BASF is again changing the record and fast forwarding to the future, to make mining operations more efficient, sustainable and safe.
If you would like more information on how we can improve your operations, please contact intelligent.mine@ basf.com.
About BASF in Australia and New Zealand
BASF serves key industries in the agriculture, coatings, manufacturing and mining sectors, and posted sales of about €348 million in Australia and New Zealand in 2020. As of the end of 2020, the company had 394 employees and operated 6 production sites across agricultural solutions, performance products and functional materials and solutions. BASF has been active in Australia for more than 90 years, and for about 60 years in New Zealand. Further information is available on the internet at www. basf.com/au.
