Partition uses HID RFID to unlock millions in mine value

A small Brisbane technology firm has lauded outsized mine-site financial gains from tiny cube sensors inserted into processing streams, which it is now looking to sell into a broader range of applications around the world.

Partition Enterprises, recognised widely in mining circles for its decades of dense medium separation design and operating expertise, started working with US digital security technology company HID in 2020 on a sensor and software offering that could significantly impact conventional process monitoring and testing of dense medium cyclones – core equipment in coal, iron ore and other mineral processing streams where they separate valuable minerals and waste material.

Partition says a customised HID radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, enclosed in an 8mm engineered cube and integrated with its CurvePRO monitoring platform, has simplified and sped longstanding industry process control practices.

“For an industry that has long depended on manual tracer retrieval, delayed laboratory analysis and resource-heavy testing, the shift is significant,” Partition says.

“The HID-enabled CurvePRO approach gives operators faster visibility into separation performance, allowing them to adjust processing densities quickly and improve minerals recovery.”

That can produce millions of dollars worth of efficiency gains, according to Partition, which started commercial deployment of the product at the Bengalla coal mine near Muswellbrook in New South Wales five years ago. It had since signed 25 users on annual leases, “with renewal rates of nearly 100%”, a company spokesperson said.

“The system has been installed at mining operations in Canada, the United States and Mozambique, supporting both dense medium separation optimisation and ore tracking applications.

“It is also installed in manganese and lithium operations. It can be used in any dense medium operations or any operations that wish to track ore from pit to stockpiling to processing to land transport to port.”

Stanwell Corporation-owned Meandu in Queensland is one of many Australian coal producers using the Partition-HID technology.

Rocco Prochilo, operations supervisor and metallurgist for former Meandu mining contractor BUMA Australia, said real-time process performance data capture meant virtually no waiting for coal washability results.

“By simultaneously capturing performance across all circuits the solution provides valuable insight into circuit operation and enables timely adjustments that have resulted in increased yield,” Prochilo said.

“It’s a practical tool that adds real value.”

Partition says Meandu’s experience reflected “the broader commercial success of the solution”.

“During the prototype and early commercialisation phase Partition Enterprises completed more than 250 audits with major Australian coal producers. Those audits delivered an average yield gain of 6% per site and an average annual profit increase of A$10.7 million per site,” it said.

Partition’s MatchPRO “companion product” that helps fine-tune cut points between valuable material and waste is said to have identified even bigger potential yield improvements during early testing at five Australian coal mines.

HID identification technologies APAC sales director Tony Hilder said the partnership with Partition showed smart RFID design could help miners access valuable data quickly and reliably via a practical tool for operational decision-making.

Partition manager Ray Wood said HID’s customised HDX E-rod RFID tag was critical to the success of the monitoring products.

“We wanted to partner with a supplier with the ability to customise ferrite rods [used in DMS] and deliver ongoing product support and updates,” he said.

“HID RFID tags met our strict quality requirements and their performance is the best we have encountered for the solution type and small size.”