For over a decade, one of the world’s largest underground mining operations has been using Prolong EP-2 Grease to increase equipment longevity and reduce service downtime. Codelco’s El Teniente division, located 80 km south of Santiago and 2,500 m above sea level, operates the one of the largest underground mines on earth, producing over 330,000 t/y of copper.

Prolong’s Chilean distributor Super Lubricantes initially introduced Prolong EP-2 Grease to operations management at El Teniente for use in 100-t LHDs. The mine was looking for a solution to the serious problem of brass bearings at the pivot points of the scoops failing at a high rate, causing costly downtime and refurbishing. Once Prolong lubrication technology was applied, bearings have ceased to fail and continuous production time between scheduled maintenance downtime has more than doubled.

Prolong formulates EP-2 with the company’s exclusive AFMT™ (Anti-Friction Metal Treatment) technology which reduces heat and friction in harsh, demanding environments. A calcium sulphonate grease that delivers exceptional corrosion protection, high dropping point and mechanical stability, EP-2 provides excellent resistance to water and oxidation, high load carrying ability and superior performance in a wide temperature range.

Codelco’s success with the loader bearings led the mine management to try Prolong grease in other applications, with equally impressive results. During a visit to El Teniente operations, both management and line operators reported favourable results when EP-2 Grease was used for bearings in the grinding mills, some 10 m in diameter. These bearings were becoming so heated that they failed, bringing the mills to a standstill halt and seriously backing up production. The application of Prolong grease radically lowered the bearing temperatures and kept the mills operating efficiently. The benefits of EP-2 were also seen when the company used it in the hydraulic lube network and in stand-along applications on timing systems.

Jeff Victer, Director of Sales – Global, Prolong Super Lubricants: “It’s extremely satisfying to be able to demonstrate such significant savings in an operation of this scale, magnitude and technological level, and our company is proud to be able to provide the Codelco mine with the benefits of EP-2 technology.”