Vale selects Schneider Electric to boost safety, efficiency in Brazil

Vale SA has selected Schneider Electric and AVEVA to supply the hardware and software, respectively, to integrate, centralize and monitor its Mariana and Itabira iron ore operations in Brazil.

Schneider will roll out its EcoStruxure control expert – Asset Link – which combines the best the two companies have to offer in one solution.

Vale chose EcoStruxure because it is key to improving safety and driving digitalization in mining operations. The company will be able to remotely control the diverse technologies across both mining operations from a central location. Centralizing control means operating costs will go down and energy use go down, a boon to sustainability.

Schneider supplied Asset Link, which combines its Modicon M580 and the AVEVA software platform to integrate data directly into the system. That allows Vale’s managers to gather better insights without having to manually transfer information. All plants are fully visible in a single view.

“Rather than simply offering the software, they provided a complete, bespoke end-to-end service helping us optimise at every turn. This included training, support, and advice throughout,” said Vale senior automation leader Paulo Henrique Fontes Coura.

“The collaboration between our companies has created something much greater than the sum of its parts,” added Gilberto da Cunha Vieira, electrical and automation engineer leader at Vale. “We are enormously grateful to Schneider Electric and AVEVA for bringing our facilities together.”

Visit www.SE.com to learn more about EcoStruxure.