Gekko’s Carbon Scout was installed at the Stawell Gold Mine in Victoria, Australia, in 2019 with the aim of optimising carbon transfers. The unit was recently upgraded in 2021 with a new X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technology to allow the operation to calculate real-time gold loadings on carbon inventory.
The XRF addition to the Carbon Scout measures the total gold loading on carbon in every tank in real time. This data ensures that the maximum gold load required in each tank is not exceeded and that carbon is moved and stripped as and when required.
The data Carbon Scout provides ensures that site management has a clear view of what production is being achieved and whether targets can be met prior to undertaking the end of month gold in circuit inventory. This confirms the day-to-day gold production calculations, giving additional confidence in the production team to make decisions regarding ore blends, throughputs, and unplanned shutdowns. The profile data received from the addition of the XRF on the Carbon Scout can be viewed in figure 2.
The work undertaken by the Gekko design and automation team in conjunction with our partners at the mine site has been outstanding and represents an exciting step forward for instrumentation, data analysis and automation in the gold processing sector.
