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Rockwell Automation releases DCS for plant operations To optimize the lifecycle of plant activities by digitisation, Rockwell Automation has introduced the PlantPAx 5.0 distributed control system (DCS). This is RockWell Automation's new DCS which is capable of digitally transforming an enterprise by leveraging process functions that are native to the controller, improving the availability of compliance-driving system properties and using analytics. Through utilizing plant-wide and modular solutions aligned with digital transformation, Rockwell Automation is assured that this will extend plant operational lifecycles. "Jim Winter, global process director of Rockwell Auotmation, said We are pleased to introduce PlantPAx DCS 5.0 to our customers. New capabilities of the framework are stepchanges in supporting our clients reduce the total construction and commissioning costs. The functionality strengthens the overall initiative to align the organization with the process management layer. "We continue to find creative ways to add more benefit to end-users by reducing the system's lifecycle expense and lowering operating risks." By implementing PlantPAx 5.0.0, the total costs associated with a plant lifecycle are projected to be minimized. Footprint reduction; project continuity to establish control strategies that are applicable to all projects; better user interfaces with smooth workflows; strong cybersecurity requirements and processes for moving data from the DCS to analysis tools are areas that the current DCS enhances. Centered in Wisconsin, the United States, the 23,000 staff of Rockwell Automation support clients in over 100 nations. 8 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW December 2020
S. Africa's mining industry calls chrome export tax ‘blunt instrument’ JOHANNESBURG,-On Friday, South Africa's largest mining industry body opposed the government's plan for a chrome ore export tax to raise domestic ferrochrome producers, claiming a tax does not solve the core problem of electricity prices that are globally uncompetitive. Processing chrome ore to manufacture ferrochrome element in stainless steel is highly power-intensive, and the ferrochrome industry in South Africa has suffered because of inadequate energy and regular power cuts in the region. The provision of a cost-effective and reliable supply of energy is the essential component of productivity,' the Minerals Council said in a statement. Due to faults at its coal-fired power plants, Eskom has failed to satisfy demand for years and is frequently cited as the biggest drain on development in Africa's most developed country. Rising energy prices have forced 40 percent of South Africa's ferroalloy output potential to be closed or mothballed in the last decade, the Minerals Council said. The business body said, "Import taxes are usually a blunt weapon that has material unforeseen implications." Chrome SA, an organization supporting producers of chrome ore, came out against the planned tax on Thursday that would make it more costly for them to export their output. South Africa is the main chrome ore manufacturer in the world and a primary metal supplier to China. Global chrome rates will possibly be pushed up by a South African export levy, traders said.
