PRESS RELEASE: The company's specialised department, RCT Custom, helped deliver a ControlMaster Automation solution to El Teniente, allowing the copper-rich mud to be accessed with minimum risk.
The Codelco-owned site is prone to mudslides caused by ice melting on the Andes range situated on the surface, a hazard that closed the exploration area for months on end. This combined with the company's plan to expand operations to the seventh and eighth levels made it crucial to find a solution that would allow them to mine mud ore safely.
Codelco issued RCT with the challenge of retrofitting RCT's ControlMaster Teleremote and Guidance Automation systems previously installed on a surface dozer, loader and truck at its Andina mine. RCT had to upgrade this equipment for fitment onto the site's Sandvik LH517 loaders operating in the El Teniente underground mine. Operators were relocated to a surface control room connected to the loaders over the mine's communication network.
RCT's senior business development manager Phil Goode said: "It was quite a challenging engineering project which required the combination of proven RCT solutions with a mine's network."
RCT said that while the existing solutions would suit all mine conditions and achieve the outcome desired by the client as is, a factory refurbishment and upgrades were essential to ensure the retrofit went to plan.
"This project highlights just how versatile RCT's automation solutions are. It was a significant bespoke engineering project that required the existing solutions to be fully factory-tested before being installed at the mine and integrated into El Teniente's existing network."
Installation and commissioning were undertaken by RCT with its channel partner, Power Train Technologies (PTT). This required the system to integrate into Codelco's existing digital Wi-Fi network, which required the collaboration between the client's mining, maintenance, engineering and innovation teams.
"The integration of refurbished equipment, installed on working production loaders into the existing mine network posed unique challenges, all of which were overcome by professional collaboration between, Codelco, RCT and PTT," said Goode.
El Teniente's chief automation manager, Rafael Guzmán, explained that the system utilises the standard wireless network, configured and managed with its own resources, which is used in various systems of underground work.
"The important thing for the site was to have a robust and reliable communications system, which in our case translates into one of the largest networks of this type in mining," added the department corporate of automation's senior engineer, Norma Vargas.
RCT's automation solutions ensure the loader travels along the optimum path and at a speed that will deliver consistent cycle times across all drivers, during every shift. As well as tramming faster, the loader will avoid walls and obstacles reducing machine damage and unplanned downtime.
The operators' working environment vastly improved, as the operators were removed from the cab of the machine and relocated into an Automation Centre on the surface of the mine. This customised solution was located in an office on site, complete with amenities. In addition, the Guidance Automation technology removes disparity between drivers, and the time it takes to complete the checklist during shift change has also decreased. Guidance Automation technology will prevent damage to the loaders, while allowing them to be driven in third gear - which results in more buckets each shift.
"Productivity and safety can go hand-in-hand. We have a precious treasure waiting to be extracted from the muddy water, and we are now on the right path thanks to RCT's Automation," said El Teniente mine's innovation and development project manager, Pablo Gándara
As well as delivering the technology, operators underwent RCT product training on the new solution to ensure they got the most out of the technology.
The goal is to produce 600t/d in a six-month period, with plans to implement another loader with RCT's Guidance Automation to reach 2,500t/d.
El Teniente said it will look at replicating this technology to other areas of the mine prone to mud and humidity if the technology performs.
