Zinc & Copper Plant Automation Built Around the Cellhouse, the Tankhouse, and the Roaster
We work across zinc and copper production -- from concentrate handling and roasting/smelting to leaching, electrowinning, casting, and dispatch -- bringing IoT, machine vision, and automation to the specific problems non-ferrous metal producers actually have: electrolytic process energy intensity, legacy multi-vendor control systems, acid and gas handling risk, and safety-critical zones around high-current DC electrical infrastructure. Built on the same platform already proven across steel and power operations -- these capabilities are engineered to be deployed at zinc and copper plants, not adapted from a generic industrial-IoT template after the fact.
The Weight of Complexity in Zinc & Copper Operations
Electrowinning cellhouses and electrorefining tankhouses running at extremely high specific energy consumption, where even small efficiency losses compound into a major cost line, often reviewed monthly instead of managed cell-by-cell in real time
Roasting and smelting operations -- SO2 gas, acid handling, high-temperature processes -- carrying real hazard risk that depends on a person physically noticing it in time
Leaching and solution purification parameters tracked on isolated systems, instead of connected to the rest of plant data
Concentrate, calcine, and slag handling across long conveyor runs where a foreign object, belt wear, or misalignment isn't caught until it causes damage or a stoppage
Cathode and anode casting quality depending on manual inspection rather than continuous monitoring
Plant control systems built up over decades across multiple PLC and SCADA vendors that were never meant to share a screen
Dispatch and logistics for high-value cathode, ingot, and concentrate product coordinated manually
A production ERP that doesn't reflect what's actually happening across roasting, leaching, electrowinning, and casting as one connected operation
None of this is unique to any one plant -- it's the shape of running a zinc or copper operation at scale, from the concentrate yard through to dispatch.
Value Chain
Where We Work Across Zinc & Copper Operations
Zinc and copper production is a chain of very different operations, each with its own failure modes. Here's where this platform applies, stage by stage:
Raw Material Handling & Concentrate Receiving
- Machine-vision detection of foreign particles and material quality on conveyors carrying concentrate and raw material
- Belt wear and tear detection across conveyor runs, flagging degradation before it causes a failure
- Built on EpsumThings' Vision AI -- the same capability already proven on raw-material handling operations in steel
Roasting & Smelting Operations
- Real-time monitoring of roaster and smelting furnace parameters, consolidated into one unified view instead of scattered across isolated control systems
- Condition-based monitoring for roasting and smelting equipment, flagging degradation before it causes unplanned downtime
Leaching & Solution Purification
- Real-time monitoring of leaching and solution purification parameters, tied into the same unified data platform as the rest of the plant
- Trend and deviation analytics flagging a process drift before it affects downstream electrowinning quality
Electrowinning & Electrorefining
- Real-time monitoring of cellhouse and tankhouse parameters -- cell voltage, current efficiency -- consolidated into one unified view instead of scattered across isolated cell-control systems
- The same electrolytic-process monitoring architecture applicable to large-scale DC electrolysis operations generally -- including aluminium's reduction process -- applied here to zinc and copper's cellhouse and tankhouse operations
- Condition-based monitoring for cellhouse and tankhouse electrical and mechanical infrastructure
Casting & Refining
- Machine-vision-based quality inspection for cathode, ingot, and anode casting, catching a defect without relying on manual sampling alone
- Casting equipment health monitoring tied into the same condition-based monitoring layer used elsewhere in the plant
Plant-Wide Automation & SCADA Modernization
- Multi-vendor SCADA and PLC integration bringing roasting, leaching, electrowinning, and casting control systems onto a single, browser-based Web-SCADA view
- Built for plants running multiple automation vendors across different eras of the operation, without forcing a single-brand standard
Energy & Electrolytic Efficiency Management
- Real-time specific energy consumption tracking at the cell and tank level -- the single largest cost lever in zinc and copper electrolytic production -- instead of a monthly aggregate review
- Consumption tied directly to production output and current efficiency, so an efficiency loss is visible as it happens
Safety, Fire & Hazard Detection
- Machine-vision-based detection of fire, smoke, and hazard conditions around roasters, smelters, and high-current electrical infrastructure
- The same Vision AI safety capability already proven in industrial plant environments, applicable directly to zinc and copper's acid-handling and high-heat conditions
Dispatch & Logistics
- Dispatch management coordinating cathode, ingot, and concentrate loading -- weighbridge integration and gate sequencing included
- The same dispatch-coordination capability already proven for rail and truck loading in industrial logistics operations
Enterprise & ERP Layer
- Manufacturing ERP tying production planning, inventory, and shop-floor data into one system rather than a spreadsheet-driven process
- Built by the same team delivering shop-floor intelligence, rather than an ERP stitched together from a separate vendor with no shop-floor visibility
Machine Vision Across Zinc & Copper Operations
The same Vision AI capability already proven in metals-sector plants applies directly to zinc and copper operations, solving genuinely different problems with one underlying platform:
Concentrate Conveyors
Foreign-particle detection and belt wear monitoring on concentrate and raw material conveyors.
Roaster & High-Current Hazards
Fire, smoke, and hazard detection around roasters, smelters, and high-current electrical infrastructure.
Casting Inspection
Cathode, ingot, and anode casting defect inspection.
Configured to what each plant actually needs watched, rather than a fixed, single-purpose vision product.
LoRa-Based Remote Connectivity in Zinc & Copper Plants
Zinc and copper plants -- like steel plants -- have areas that are expensive or impractical to run new cabling to: large cellhouse and tankhouse footprints, remote concentrate yards, distant material-handling infrastructure. LoRa-based wireless connectivity, already proven extending monitoring to hard-to-cable areas in metals-sector operations, applies the same way here -- without a dedicated fibre run.
Built on EpsumThings
Every capability on this page runs on EpsumThings, Hailiot's industrial operations platform -- Unified Data Lake for multi-vendor data integration, Web-SCADA for unified control-room visibility, SCADAA for trend and deviation analytics, Vision AI for the machine-vision work described above, Workflow Automation for maintenance and safety workflows, and AI Agents for the next layer of autonomous decision support. This is the same platform already proven across steel and power operations -- built to extend directly into zinc and copper's roasting, leaching, electrowinning, and casting operations.
Why Zinc & Copper Producers Work With Us
Process-Specific Technical Depth
Electrowinning cell efficiency, roasting and smelting hazard management, cathode quality -- not a generic industrial-IoT pitch adapted for non-ferrous metals.
One Connected Platform
One platform across automation, energy, machine vision, ERP, and logistics, instead of a different vendor for each capability.
Multi-Vendor by Design
SCADA and PLC upgrades that unify what's already running rather than forcing a single-brand standard.
Proven Track Record
A platform with a genuine track record in adjacent energy-intensive process industries -- steel and power -- not a first deployment anywhere.
What This Changes for Zinc & Copper Operations
Cellhouse and tankhouse efficiency losses visible cell-by-cell in real time, instead of reviewed once a month
Roasting, smelting, and leaching process health visible before they cause a stoppage
Multi-vendor control systems across roasting, leaching, electrowinning, and casting unified into one view
Safety hazards around roasters, smelters, and high-current infrastructure flagged as they develop, not discovered after the fact
Production, dispatch, and ERP data connected end to end, instead of production happening on one system and the paperwork on another
Frequently Asked Questions
Our deepest process-industry track record right now is in steel and power; the zinc- and copper-specific capabilities on this page -- including electrowinning and electrorefining process monitoring, which follows the same large-scale DC electrolysis monitoring approach used for aluminium reduction -- are built on that same platform and engineering team, adapted to roasting, leaching, and electrolytic operations, rather than a first-time build for the sector.
Have a Question About Digitizing Your Zinc or Copper Operation?
If cellhouse efficiency, roasting or smelting health, or plant safety depends on a monthly report or a physical inspection walk rather than a system that flags it in real time, that's exactly the gap this platform is built to close.