In late October 2014, RAG Mining Solutions and representatives from RAG Aktiengesellschaft welcomed an economic delegation from Chile consisting of nearly 30 leading figures from Chilean mining companies, mining industry associations, universities, investment development companies and political circles. The aim of the event was to boost the efficiency of mining processes in Chile and to increase the competitiveness of the Chilean mining industry by adopting the best practices employed by the German mining sector.

After a presentation on RAG Mining Solutions by CEO Professor Dr Martin Junker, the party listened to various reports on innovations in the field of automation, lean production and management development. The presentations highlighted the fact that ongoing production improvements can only be achieved through effective interaction between technology, the workforce and the company organisation.

“Our guests from Chile appeared impressed by the depth of know-how at RAG Mining Solutions”, said Junker when summing up the success of the meeting. “We believe that our long-standing experience with coal mining operations in Germany can also be put to good use in Chile for the development of an efficient, competitive and safe mining industry.”

Ramon Kipp, Head of Automation and Electrical Engineering at RAG Mining Solutions, explained the mine automation system in even greater detail as he accompanied the party on a tour of the mine control room at Prosper Haniel colliery. This gave the visitors from Chile an opportunity to see how a modern control room is able to handle all kinds of process monitoring tasks and control operations.

Using as an example the new coal panel that has just gone into production in Zollverein seam, Ramon Kipp explained to the delegation how the underground machines were monitored and controlled from the surface ‘nerve centre’ at Prosper Haniel. He went on to conclude: “Despite safety challenges and geological problems we have succeeded in setting up an efficient and reliable production process in the new panel thanks to the modern and innovative face automation system that is currently being commissioned.”