The largest mine in Peru, Antamina, has started using MineSense’s ore sorting technology as it looks to increase ore loading accuracy at the joint venture operation.

MineSense’s ShovelSense technology provides significant value to mine operators by identifying ore and waste, and classifying ore at the earliest stage possible in the mining process, the extraction face, using X-ray Fluorescence sensors, the Vancouver-based company says.

It has proved this technology out at multiple mine sites in North America, including Teck Resources’ Highland Valley Copper operations and Copper Mountain Mining Corp’s namesake mine, both of which are in British Columbia, Canada.

Enrique Parades Rivero, Mine Manager at Antamina Mine, stated at the recent Comasurmin 2021 conference that Antamina “plans to know what ore grades the mine is processing to the millimetre,” and this ore characterisation data is provided by MineSense’s ShovelSense technology. This technology, MineSense says, enables mines to generate more metal to increase profitability and improve operations, while optimising sustainability performance.

In terms of loading equipment, Antamina reportedly operates seven P&H 4100XPC electric shovels, four Hitachi EX5600-6 hydraulic shovels and two Cat 994F wheel loaders. Some of this loading equipment is interacting with the first fleet of electric drive 372 t class 798 AC Cat trucks in the country, which Ferreyros, the Caterpillar dealer in Peru, recently successfully put into operation.

The Antamina copper/zinc mine is owned 33.75% by BHP, 33.75% by Glencore 33.75%, 22.5% by Teck and 10% by Mitsubishi.