Tag Archives: Chile

BHP builds its ‘green’ copper credentials at Escondida, Spence

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BHP says new renewable energy contracts it has recently signed in Chile will reduce energy prices for its Escondida and Spence copper mines by around 20% and help displace up to 3 Mt/y of CO2 emissions from these operations.

These agreements not only benefit BHP’s business but generate strong environmental and social value, according to Daniel Malchuk, President Operations for BHP’s Minerals Americas business.

BHP operates and own 57.5% of the Escondida mine, a leading producer of copper concentrate and cathodes from a copper porphyry deposit, in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. Spence, which is 100% owned by BHP, is also in northern Chile.

He said: “Population growth and higher living standards combined with greater electrification are expected to push up demand for copper. This means that copper in products such as electric cars and renewable energy infrastructure, which are vital to the world’s sustainable growth, must be produced to the highest environmental aspirations.”

The new energy contracts, along with BHP’s investment in desalinated water in Chile, demonstrate social value in action and help drive the wider agenda for sustainable green copper, according to Malchuk.

Social value is one strategic pillar the company embeds in all its decision-making and informs the way in which it provides resources and generates long-term, sustainable value. This was the subject of BHP Chief External Affairs Officer, Geoff Healy’s speech in London earlier this month.

Malchuk said the company has negotiated four new power contracts that will meet its energy requirements at Escondida and Spence from 100% renewable energy sources by the mid-2020s.

“When fully operational, these renewable supply arrangements will eliminate virtually all of Escondida and Spence Scope 2 emissions (emissions from purchased energy), effectively displacing up to 3 Mt of CO2 annually compared to the fossil fuel contracts they replace,” he said. “This is the equivalent to annual emissions from about 700,000 combustion engine cars and accounts for around 70% of BHP’s Minerals Americas total greenhouse gas emissions.”

These actions also support Chile’s wider “Energia 2025” power policy target for 20% of all Chilean energy to come from renewable sources by 2025.

Following a competitive tender process, Escondida and Spence agreed separate 15-year contracts for 3 TWh/y and 10-year contracts for 3 TWh/year with ENEL Generación Chile and Colbún respectively. The ENEL contracts will begin in August 2021 and the Colbún contracts in January 2022, BHP said, with power supplied from solar, wind and hydro sources.

Malchuk said: “These contracts are practical examples of our commitment to social value that are linked to a sound business case. We estimate the agreements will reduce energy prices at our Escondida and Spence copper mine operations by around 20%, provide our operations flexibility and security of supply, and strengthen our ability to deliver sustainable copper across our supply chain.”

On top of this, the company has confirmed that its Spence operations will begin using desalinated water as the main source of supply from mid-2020 upon completion of a 1,000 l/s capacity desalination plant. This was part of a plan the company outlined in 2017 to grow the Spence operation.

This is on top of the more than $4 billion, 2,500-l/s desalination plant the company built at Escondida.

Malchuk said: “Water is a precious commodity that is critical to our operations in Chile and to the communities where we operate in the Atacama Desert, one of the driest regions in the world. We recognise our operations have an impact on the environment given the immense amount of water they consume.”

He added: “Our Water Stewardship position statement, launched last month, outlines our vision for a water secure world by 2030. It sets out our actions to improve water management within our operations and contribute to more effective water governance beyond the mine gate.

“We strongly support the UN Sustainable Development Goals on access to clean and affordable water. That’s why we will set public targets and engage industry, communities and governments to improve governance, transparency and collaboration in water management.”

ABT’s Failsafe brakes gain foothold in Chile mining market

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Advanced Braking Technology has received an order from Minecorp-Chile that will see its Failsafe brakes used by Orica at two underground copper mines, in northern Chile.

The order, made by Minecorp-Chile on behalf of General Motors vehicle dealership, SALFA Chile, achieves one of the company’s strategic objectives of further diversifying its customer base for innovative braking solutions, ABT said.

The initial order will see Failsafe brakes installed on the Isuzu NPS4X4 truck: an existing ABT product application that will require no further engineering, it said.

The end user of these Isuzu NPS Canter trucks will be Orica Chile SA who will use the trucks in the two Codelco-owned underground mine operations.

The Isuzu NPS4X4 was first introduced to the Chile market by General Motors in April 2019, with these ABT Failsafe brakes fitted to some of the first trucks delivered into the country, ABT said.

ABT CEO, John Annand, said: “This order is further demonstration that our Failsafe range of braking products are valued around the world and have a place in vehicles in a range of applications where safety, maintenance and cost efficiencies are paramount. Our team is committed to exploiting these opportunities on a global scale.”

The value of this first order is for around A$150,000 ($101,559) and includes Failsafe kits to be held in stock. This initial order will be further supplemented by the ongoing supply of spares and consumables, the company said.

ABT added: “This is an initial order from Minecorp-Chile, as it is expected that General Motors dealers will have further demand for Failsafe as the Isuzu NPS 4×4 Canter is marketed as a new truck application within Chile.

“In addition, Minecorp-Chile is in early stage discussions with other potential customers for a ABT Failsafe solution across other truck and light duty vehicle applications.”

Annand said: “Chile and the broader Latin America represents a significant growth opportunity for ABT as we look to supply innovative braking solutions, not only to mining contractors like Orica but other global mining companies where the safety of their people and equipment are paramount.”

Minecorp-Chile Director, Sebastián Dibarrart, said: “This initial order is the first of what is expected to be an ongoing supply requirement for ABT products into the Chilean mining vehicle market. Whilst this order is for the Failsafe product, further opportunities will be pursued for the entire suite of ABT products, including Terra Dura. Minecorp-Chile looks forward to working with ABT to exploit these opportunities in what we know is a growing, but under serviced Chilean market.”

Dibarrart added: “Codelco Chile, the largest copper produce rin the world with the largest underground copper operation, the El Teniente mine, together with the transformation of its Chuquicamata mine into an underground operation including hundreds of kilometers of tunnel development, will undoubtedly be an ideal end user of ABT Failsafe brakes.”

ABT also recently received an order for Failsafe brakes that will be used at the Rio Tinto-operated Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia.

GroundProbe extends Americas mine, tailings dam monitoring reach with Santiago centre

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GroundProbe has launched a dedicated monitoring centre in Santiago, Chile, to, it says, provide 24/7 real-time radar and laser monitoring services for tailings dams and mines throughout North and South America.

The centre connects remote sites with industry experts in three languages, according to GroundProbe, with the facility monitoring live slope stability data and reacting to alarms to ensure the maximum safety of people and communities.

Crewed by 45 specialised geotechnical engineers, these centre provide 24/7 expertise to over 30 customers globally, GroundProbe says.

GroundProbe, owned by Orica, is a global leader in real-time technologies used to detect instabilities and predict when mine and dam collapses will occur.

From a launch event in Santiago, GroundProbe CEO Brian Gillespie said the new centre marked an important step for GroundProbe’s future growth, especially for South and North America.

“We’ve witnessed a boom in Brazil for continuous, real-time monitoring of tailings dams, with a huge increase in demand for our remote, 24/7 geotechnical expertise,” Gillespie said.

“We saw it as an absolute necessity to bolster our offering and extend our support services from Asia Pacific to the Americas.

“Placing the centre in Santiago and ensuring its tri-lingual capabilities allows us to do just that.”

GroundProbe has, for many years, been providing 24/7 assistance to customers from its Asia-Pacific monitoring centre. The addition of a second location, operating in Spanish, Portuguese and English, sees GroundProbe remain at the forefront of our industry, the company said.

David Noon, COO of GroundProbe, said: “Our Santiago remote monitoring centre is operational from day one, with our teams already monitoring many tailings dams, a massive hydro-electric dam and even a landslide on a national highway in Colombia.

“Not only is it essential to our customers that our team are native Spanish and Portuguese speakers, but having a centre in Latin America shows our level of commitment to the region and to creating jobs in the local communities we serve.”

To mark the launch, GroundProbe and Orica hosted an event with key customers, industry representatives and stakeholders (pictured).

GroundProbe’s monitoring centres are home to its Geotechnical Support Services (GSS) team and dedicated team of geotechnical support engineers.

The second monitoring centre in Santiago will provide the same services to customers, including: GSS-Remote, a 24-hour remote monitoring solution; GSS-Training, a SSR and laser training service; and GSS-Reporting, the company’s customised analysis and reporting service.

Components Only expands offering to Chile, Mongolia

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Australia-based business, Components Only says it is establishing offices in Chile and Mongolia as it looks to tap into the high-profile mining markets in those regions.

Calling itself a leader in the buying, selling and sourcing of new, used and rebuilt components for heavy machinery across the mining, construction and earthmoving industries, the company said the move was predicated on responding to increased demand for its services and expertise.

Components Only Accounts Director, Ben Hailes (pictured on the left), said: “Both rich in resources, Chile and Mongolia utilise similar equipment to our existing markets of Australia and North America and we are confident that with local staff we can respond to the increasing trade requirements of these economies.”

Chile is the world’s largest producer of copper, with the mining industry a major employer in the country. The sector represents around 10 percent of the nation’s GDP. Mongolia, meanwhile, boasts significant proven deposits of gold, copper, iron ore and coal, with its minerals sector underdeveloped and holding enormous potential, Components Only said.

Hailes continued: “Our expansion into Chile and Mongolia is an opportunity for us to leverage our proven business model, as well as to create positive economic impacts for both nations through employment and development of infrastructure. We’re committed to improving these regions, and we look forward to working with the local communities.”

Components Only’s services encompass the sourcing of new, used and rebuilt components worldwide; selling, appraising and disposing of excess and obsolete stock; and providing online marketplace services that facilitate the trade of components on one platform.

BHP looking at Australia-wide deployment of Supply Innovation program, Udd says

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Following the successful introduction of a Supply Innovation program in Chile, BHP is now piloting this same platform at its Olympic Dam copper-gold-uranium mine in South Australia, Rag Udd, VP Technology Global Transformation at BHP, told delegates at the AustMine 2019 conference in Brisbane, Australia, this week.

Speaking at the packed event – reported to have broken past attendance records – Udd said BHP was looking to local suppliers to “solve challenges and, in turn, stimulate innovation” and could potentially expand the use of this platform throughout Australia.

He said the company needed to work differently to achieve its new procurement goals, which included “removing barriers to doing business with us”.

Udd pointed to the company’s Supply Innovation program, which originated in Chile, as evidence of the company’s progress in this space.

“This program has seen us create an open platform to connect our unique mining challenges with local suppliers and innovators,” he told delegates.

Rather than ask for a specific service or equipment – as has often been the way in the past – the platform enables suppliers to bring their innovations to the mining major, he said.

It was this platform that led to BHP introducing a new Trommel Maintenance Robot at its majority-owned Escondida copper operation, in Chile. Developed collaboratively by FLSmidth and local Chilean supplier MIRS, the robotic arm has benefits for safety and productivity, according to BHP.

Udd said the company is now piloting this program at Olympic Dam, with a view to establishing the platform on a national basis.

Metso expands Latin America offering with HighService Service

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Metso has completed its acquisition of HighService Service, the service division of the Chilean mining engineering, construction and technology company HighService Corp, adding around 1,000 employees to its expanding Latin America operations.

The acquisition was announced in January and was approved by the Chilean competition authority in March.

Mikko Keto, President of Metso’s Minerals Services and Pumps business areas, said: “This acquisition expands our service offering in the Chilean and Pacific Rim mining markets and supports Metso’s growth strategy. It brings us more service experts to support our customers in the region and we are happy to welcome our new colleagues to Metso.”

Just a few weeks ago, Metso was awarded a contract to supply crushing and material handling equipment for the first stage of Codelco’s El Teniente copper mine expansion project in central Chile.

HighService Service offers its customers a variety of services from maintenance to commissioning and remote monitoring. Its circa-1,000 employees are in Chile, Argentina and Brazil. Its sales in the fiscal year 2017 were €60 million ($66.2 million).

Metso books comminution equipment order from Codelco at El Teniente

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Metso says it has been awarded a contract to supply crushing and material handling equipment for the first stage of Codelco’s El Teniente copper mine expansion project in central Chile.

The order was booked in Metso’s March quarter 2019 orders and will see the company deliver, among other elements, primary gyratory crushing equipment with apron feeders and conveyer belts as well as related services.

El Teniente is the world’s largest underground copper mine as well as the largest operation of the Chile state-owned copper mining company Codelco. The expansion project, called El Teniente New Mine Level, is expected to add 50 years to the life of the mine, with the first stage expected to start up in 2023.

Once completed, the full expansion will allow El Teniente to maintain its current output of around 450,000 t/y of refined copper, Metso said.

Victor Tapia, President, Mining Equipment Business Area at Metso, said: “We are proud of being part of this landmark project in which we will utilise our process and product knowledge gathered over 150 years of experience.

“In a landscape where challenges are continuously evolving, we are fully committed to keep developing solutions that help our customers to secure sustainable productivity and long-term success.”

Most of the equipment deliveries to El Teniente are scheduled for 2021, while services will be carried out between 2022 and 2023, according to Metso.

“Metso in Chile and Codelco have a long history of cooperation. This order confirms once again our expertise and our position as a leading equipment supplier for underground mining and as a key equipment a supplier for Codelco,” Tapia said.

“Going forward, we’ll focus on providing El Teniente with a high level of performance, reliability and best-in-class support service throughout the project life cycle,” he added.

Sandvik to automate and digitalise Codelco’s Chuquicamata underground mine

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Sandvik says it will automate and digitalise Codelco’s underground copper operation at Chuquicamata, in Chile, creating one of the “most efficient and advanced underground mines in the world”.

Sandvik’s AutoMine® and OptiMine® solutions will allow Codelco to operate its new fleet of Sandvik LH621 loaders in fully autonomous mode, the mining equipment maker said.

Codelco is converting Chuquicamata from an open pit to underground mine as part of a 10-year strategic project to prolong its existing operations. It is due to start up in 2019.

Sandvik said: “The open system integrates manual operations and autonomous equipment into one powerful solution with AutoMine and OptiMine, enabling full transparency and real-time control over the parallel production and mine development activities.”

Andrés Avendaño, Operations Manager, Chuquicamata Underground, said: “Using our mines to full effect is part of our focus on sustainability and a key driver for our business. Automation and optimisation are critical to getting the most from our mines and keeping our people safe while we do it.”

Sandvik and Codelco started their automation journeys together with the first-ever AutoMine loading system installation at Codelco’s El Teniente copper mine, in 2004, Sandvik said.

Riku Pulli, Vice President, Automation, Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology, said: “Codelco has been an important partner for us from the beginning. It’s fantastic to continue the partnership as our visions are well aligned. We look forward to working with Codelco to deliver even smarter, safer, more productive mining through digitalisation.”

Codelco is the number one copper producer in the world and is owned by the Chile government. It controls about 19% of the world’s copper reserves and is also the second producer of molybdenum worldwide, with 24,000 t produced in 2018.

Sandvik’s digital solutions, including AutoMine, OptiMine and “My Sandvik” are working in hundreds of mines around the world.

The AutoMine product family allows customers to scale up automation at their own pace, covering all aspects of automation, from remote and autonomous operation of a single piece of equipment to multi-machine control and full-fleet automation using automatic mission and traffic control capabilities. AutoMine installations have logged more than 2.5 million hours with zero lost time injuries, according to the company.

OptiMine, meanwhile, is a suite of digital tools for analysing and optimising mining production and processes. It integrates all relevant data into one source, delivering both real-time and predictive insights to improve operations, Sandvik said. OptiMine is open and scalable, giving customers the flexibility to build at their own speed and incorporate other equipment, systems and networks.

Codelco looks to Uptake’s AI solution for equipment maintenance gains

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Uptake says it and the world’s largest copper producer, Codelco, are working on an artificial intelligence (AI) solution to monitor the health of mining equipment and ensure operations run efficiently and maintenance needs are predicted.

The agreement, part of Codelco’s digital transformation plan, includes mining and processing equipment at Codelco’s Division Ministro Hales (DMH) mine in Calama, Chile. In addition, Uptake will monitor grinding mills, roasters, crushers, pumps, haul trucks, and other machines with a view to creating a comprehensive and enterprise-wide Asset Performance Management solution across all of the company’s operating mines.

In 2017, the company’s DMH mine produced 215,086 t of copper alongside more than 126 t of silver.

Jaime Rivera, Codelco General Manager of the Andina Division, said: “Deploying artificial intelligence will allow Codelco to make best use of our operational data and allow us to reach our goals of boosting mining productivity, reduce costs and maintain safe machine operations through the predictive capabilities of Uptake’s Asset Performance Management (APM) software.”

Jay Allardyce, Uptake Executive Vice President of Industry, Product and Partnerships, said: “Codelco is the world’s leader in copper production and we’re pleased to support their digital efforts to make operations and maintenance expenditures more efficient by increasing visibility into the real-time and future health of mining machines.

“We are excited to partner with Codelco given their forward thinking to accelerate not only their operations, but the industry. With their data first approach coupled with our AI leadership, the transformation impact is outstanding and with leaders like Codelco it sets the tone for what is possible.”

Uptake’s APM software solution improves operational efficiency by leveraging AI to create business value from operational data, according to Uptake.

“Traditional asset management only covers routine maintenance tasks and fails to anticipate and adjust to the ways industry operates its business,” Uptake said. “Today’s asset-intensive environments require a new approach with industrial data science generating OEM (original equipment manufacturer)-agnostic insights, predictions and recommendations for any asset.”

By deploying Uptake APM, industry can unlock new operational efficiencies by making proactive maintenance decisions based on predictive insights, the company said. “Our industrial AI and machine-learning engines detect asset anomalies and help predict and prevent problems before they happen. Industry can also leverage the data analytics to understand how to drive more financial outcomes that impact business.”

Codelco terminates SNC-Lavalin contract at Chuquicamata

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Codelco has terminated its contract with SNC-Lavalin following a dispute related to a copper project the engineering firm was working on for the mining company.

SNC-Lavalin, which confirmed the news in a press statement, said Codelco had also initiated a drawdown on its approximately $42 million in bank guarantees.

News of a problem with one of SNC-Lavalin’s mining and metallurgy contracts came to light earlier this year, when the Canada-based company said an unfavourable cost reforecast related to a project would affect its 2018 financial results.

The two parties were unable to agree on a way forward for the project and, following further discussions, agreed to settle the dispute through an accelerated arbitration process. SNC-Lavalin said at the time that it expected to make significant recoveries in the future, but it would in the meantime continue to work on the project, which it expected to complete by the end of the June quarter.

Codelco said the $260 million engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the building of two new acid plants at the Chuquicamata smelter, in Chile, had been terminated due to a serious breach in the contract milestones.

“Among the non-compliances, are the delay in payments to its subcontractors, delays in the execution of the project and problems in the quality of the works, among others,” Codelco said in a news release translated from Spanish.

SNC-Lavalin, which earlier this year stopped bidding on all future mining EPC projects, said it was “appalled and surprised” by the decision taken by Codelco.

“We had reached an agreement in good faith on February 1, 2019, regarding the full completion of the project and a process for a fast track dispute resolution of previously announced unresolved issues through accelerated arbitration.”

The company said as it was nearing the end of the project completion, Codelco’s actions would put the completion and commissioning date further at risk.

“We believe that this termination is unwarranted and in breach of good faith agreements reached by the parties. It should be noted that Codelco has reached this decision after SNC-Lavalin openly informed Codelco of the status of the execution of the works, as requested by Codelco, which showed delays caused by site conditions that were the responsibility of Codelco, and the poor and unjustified acts by the main construction subcontractors,” SNC-Lavalin said.

SNC-Lavalin said it was now demobilising the job site and assessing the legal and financial impact of Codelco’s decision and preparing the dispute resolution actions to “recover as much as possible of the previously announced losses that are due directly to our client and to poor sub-contractor performance”.