Tag Archives: Tarapacá

Liebherr R 9300 excavator gets to work at SQM iodine mine

Energy minerals, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, , , , ,

South America’s first Liebherr R 9300 excavator has now arrived at SQM’s Nueva Victoria open-pit iodine mine in the Tarapacá region of Chile, looking to, among other things, reduce the operation’s cost per tonne.

The R 9300 is the second Generation 8 excavator launched within Liebherr’s product portfolio and builds on the OEM’s decades of excavator design expertise in the mining industry. As a Generation 8 machine, the R 9300 comes fitted with the most advanced Liebherr mining technologies. These technologies provide increased operational performance and enable future product requirements such as automation and zero emission options.

The R 9300 was also designed to support greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. Liebherr’s proprietary engine and hydraulic management system – Liebherr Power Efficiency – comes as standard to reduce on-site fuel consumption. Further, the R 9300’s diesel engines are Tier 4 and Stage V compliant to adhere to strict international emissions standards and an electric power train is already in development.

Since the first of these 250-t machines went to work back in 2022, they have proven themselves as an incredibly fuel efficient and productive loading solution that can significantly reduce customers’ cost per tonne, according to Liebherr.

Chile’s SQM increases electric vehicle fleet to 34

Energy minerals, Environmental, Mine operation news, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , ,

The largest electric fleet of transport vehicles in the Chilean mining industry has been unveiled in Antofagasta by SQM in partnership with transport companies Viggo GrandLeasing, Transportes CVU and Andes Motor, as part of their sustainability plans to reduce their CO2 emissions, SQM says.

Consisting of 34 fully-electric vehicles, the fleet includes passenger buses, minibuses, vans, mobile solar checkpoints, and what it says is Chile’s first high-tonnage electric truck, making it the most diverse electric fleet in use across an entire mining operation in the country.

With the launch of the new fleet, SQM says it is on track to achieve carbon neutrality in all its products by 2040. This follows on from the company’s announcement at the end of 2021 that it was joining the UN’s Race to Zero program. SQM had already introduced Chile’s first high-tonnage electric truck, a 28 t Yutong ZKH5310ZLJP6BEV, to be used in large-scale mining onto an 86-km route from the company’s Coya Sur plant in María Elena to the port of Tocopilla, saving approximately 3,840 t/y of CO2.

The vehicles were presented on the esplanade of the Huanchaca Ruins in Antofagasta, at an event that was attended by various regional and community leaders, as well as executives and representatives from SQM and its partners. The introduction of the electric vehicles in northern Chile is especially significant as it supports efforts at a national level to decentralise electric mobility in Chile, SQM said.

José Miguel Berguño, Vice President of Corporate Services at SQM, said: “As a company we are proud to launch this fleet, contributing to the development of national electromobility and promoting the use of electric vehicles in the north of Chile, covering the regions of Antofagasta and Tarapacá, focusing on operational areas of our sites and on the transfer of all workers of SQM who live throughout the national territory.”