SKF has secured a three-year contract with Cia Minera Antamina to provide Proactive Reliability Maintenance services at the company’s open-pit copper mine in Peru. Antamina is jointly owned by BHP Billiton, Glencore, Teck and Mitsubishi Corporation, who have jointly invested over $3.5 billion in the site, making it one of the largest mining investments in Peru’s history.

John Schmidt, President, Industrial Sales, Americas, says: “For mine operators, many of which are located in remote areas, critical equipment failure can be very costly. By applying our knowledge within the fields of tribology, vibrational analysis and thermography, we are able to support Antamina in reducing the risk of reoccurring failures, contributing to improved machine efficiency.”

SKF’s Proactive Reliability Maintenance services will apply best practice predictive maintenance activities, including non-destructive testing of critical mining and plant equipment, to diagnose the root causes of failures at the Antamina mine. Together with Antamina’s own maintenance teams, SKF will then take the necessary steps to help eliminate reoccurrences by, for example, adjusting lubrication use, shaft alignment and seals or bearing selection.