Burchell, J.J.Le Roux, Johan DerikCraig, Ian Keith2018-03-142017-12Burchell, J.J., le Roux, J.D. & Craig, I.K. 2017, 'Plant-wide control of a base metal refinery : top-down analysis', IFAC-PapersOnLine, vol. 50, no. 2, pp. 59-64.1474-667010.1016/j.ifacol.2017.12.011http://hdl.handle.net/2263/64250A top-down control structure is presented for the optimal steady-state operation of a base metal refinery. The economic cost function for the plant is derived in terms of the production rate of primary and secondary products, the losses of primary product to the secondary product streams, and the fixed and variable costs of the plant. The economic performance of the plant is largely defined by the operation of an exothermic pressure leach circuit. The leach efficiency of this circuit determines the potential production rate for the plant, its operation affects costs, and it is the source of all primary product losses. Given market prices for the primary and secondary products, and reagent and utility costs, the proposed control structure can be used to define the optimal operating region for the pressure leach circuit so as to maximize the profitability of the plant.en© 2017 IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control) Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Notice : this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in IFAC papers online. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. A definitive version was subsequently published in IFAC papers online, vol. 50, no. 2, pp. 59-64, 2017. doi : 10.1016/j.ifacol.2017.12.011.RefiningHydrometallurgyPlant-wide controlSecondary productProduction ratesPotential productionOptimal steady stateOperating regionsEconomic performanceControl structureLeachingCostsCost functionsMetal refineriesPostprint Article