An important project for the remote operation of drilling rigs that aims to improve the quality of life of workers in their workplace, their safety and at the same time, improve the productivity of the equipment fleet through more efficient use, is being implemented at Lundin Mining’s Minera Candelaria copper mine in Chile. The project consists of remote operation of the fleet of Epiroc Pit Viper 351 drills, which will be carried out from an integrated room located approximately 3 km from the mine pit, where its operators will have full control of the equipment.

In the implementation of this system, multidisciplinary teams from different areas of the company participated together with Epiroc, responsible for applying the technology to the drilling rigs.

The system, which is in the final testing stage and is expected to be fully operational in the coming weeks, “has important advantages such as reducing the exposure of workers to the safety and environmental conditions of the operation; time saving, since transfers are avoided; a more precise performance of the drill and therefore, greater operational efficiency; in addition to increasing the reliability of the equipment by being operated within pre-established limits and through automated sequences.”

Regarding this project, Arnaldo Burdiles, Mine Maintenance Manager, indicated that “with its implementation, we are taking an important step in the use of technology and innovation, contributing significantly to improving the production processes of Minera Candelaria. In this sense, at the end of August the testing stage of all system functions will end, which is being carried out from the control room implemented for this purpose and in which -in addition- the current operators of these drilling rigs are being trained.”

For his part, Sergio Armstrong, General Manager of Operations of Minera Candelaria stated: “this project occurs in the context of the search for excellence in our operations, through the incorporation of state-of-the-art technology in mining and processing processes. of mineral. This improvement will specifically allow us to increase the productivity of the drilling and blasting stage in our open pit. At Minera Candelaria we are projecting ourselves to the mining of the future and for this we must rethink the way we do mining, where innovation and the implementation of automated and sustainable processes is essential. This, together with other projects, allow us to take important steps in our mission of being an operation of excellence.”