Mining operations are under growing pressure to deliver consistent, predictable value.
Inconsistent decision making, dependency on a shrinking talent pool, declining ore grades, and difficulty optimizing for economic outcomes all contribute to avoidable value loss.
Traditional control approaches weren’t designed to handle modern complexities, which demands new technology for advanced decision support.
AI can assist your operators by handling this complexity in real-time to reduce the impact of these challenges and achieve site objectives.
.png)
What is AIPC?
AI-Assisted Process Control (AIPC) adds an intelligent, predictive layer on top of your existing control system, acting like an operational co-pilot that works directly with operators to keep the plant ahead of changing conditions. By continuously learning from your data, it aligns its decisions to your site’s operational and economic objectives and adapts as those priorities evolve.
Unlike traditional control approaches, AIPC aligns setpoints at each unit of operation to site-wide objectives and adapts them based on day-to-day operating realities. By accounting for interactions across the flowsheet, it helps optimize performance throughout the value chain, not just within individual units.
Because it works with the infrastructure you already have, it’s a low-disruption way to unlock performance you already own. And with Hatch partnering on implementation and long-term sustainment, sites see the benefits compound over time.
Why move to AIPC?
Achieve closed loop automation
- Economically aligned, autonomous control that stays on target.
- Progresses from advisory to open loop to closed loop based on site readiness.
- Operators retain visibility and control over the system.
Build trust through glass-box transparency
- Explainable decision logic that reinforces collaboration with operators.
Learn and adapt to changing conditions
- Models retrain automatically as ore and plant conditions shift.
Coordinate multi-unit decisions across the plant
- Multi-unit optimization coordinates decisions across circuits and sites for broader value capture.
Preserve and apply operational expertise
- Institutional knowledge and best practices embedded directly into the model.
Blend process knowledge with machine learning
- First principles and AI work together for stable, adaptive control.
Proven impact
Reported results from our AIPC implementation.
Read more about our unique approach to process automation here .
Is AIPC right for your process?
AIPC can unlock value across a wide range of processes, from foundational control challenges to multi-variable, non-linear processes with sub-minute decision intervals. While widely applied in mining operations today, AIPC is also being used in infrastructure and energy operations facing similar demands for coordinated decision making across varying objectives.
These are the latest areas where clients are applying AIPC:
• Flotation
• Flux control
• Concentrators
• Autoclaves
• Smelters
• And other complex process systems
If your process demands fast, coordinated, value-aligned decisions, AIPC will deliver.
How do we make AIPC work for you?
Our approach to AIPC is grounded in maximizing value and capturing outcomes, because effective deployment is about understanding your process, not just the data.
Recognizing that every operation has unique constraints, priorities, and strengths, we start by working with your teams to pinpoint where variability is costing value and how decisions are currently made on the floor. From there, we combine your infrastructure and data with Hatch’s process, control, and AI expertise to design a solution that fits your operation, not the other way around. Throughout this process, we align on what success looks like, establish expected improvements, and quantify potential value capture. Clients often see ROI within a few months after implementation.
Because AIPC becomes part of daily operating practice, and processes and goals change over time, we stay with you after commissioning. As operations evolve, we continue refining models, tracking performance, and supporting your teams to sustain gains across the operational life cycle, and long after commissioning.
What can your AIPC journey look like?
The evolution of process control
Wherever you are today, we help you take the next step
Meet the cross functional experts behind AIPC
Warwick Smith – Global Practice Lead AIPC
Warwick Smith has 18+ years in minerals processing and smelting operations, and consulting. His unique background spans site operations management of large-scale plants, site engineering roles, remote excellence centre management, computer science, advanced process analytics for plant and decision automation, digital twin design and development. He is one of Australia’s leading practitioners in the application of AI/ML to minerals processing.
Yale Zhang – Global Director, Analytics and Decision Solutions
Yale Zhang is the Global Director for Analytics and Decision Solutions at Hatch, with a 30-year career in the fields of process optimization, digital twin and AI. Dr. Zhang is currently responsible for digital technology innovation in asset & operational intelligence, enterprise value chain optimization, and carbon emission reduction.
Our other experts
- AI & Optimization: James Yelland, Yael Valdez
- Software: James Begg
- Controls and Automations: Farah Kaboodanian
- Process: Melanie Kahle, Marc Richter
Interested in learning more?
Ready to unlock measurable value from your operations? Partner with us to design an AIPC solution tailored to your process, not just your data.
