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El Teniente team members: From left, Nelson Contreras (rig
operator), Hector Diaz (Atlas Copco Chile), Mario Perez (rig
operator) and Carlos Muņoz (Special Projects). |
Copper
mine aims for
a big improvement
by 2005
Full
steam ahead at El Teniente
El
Teniente, the name of the world's largest underground copper mine
in Chile, translates as The Lieutenant. Now, orders have been issued
for a vital operation which will substantially increase daily production.
The El Teniente copper mine lies at a height of more than 2,000
metres in the Andes mountain range, 80 km south-east of the capital
city Santiago and 44 km from Rancagua.
| Owned
and operated by the state's Codelco mining company, El Teniente
has been producing copper since 1904. Operations were started
by the Braden Copper Company, founded by American William
Braden, and there have been several changes in ownership since
then.
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The mine has an orebody measuring 2.8 km long, 1.9 km wide and 1.8
km deep. The ore contains a reserve of some 4,000 million tonnes,
which is expected to last for up to 100 years. Around 2,800 miners
work on seven levels, using different versions of block caving technique,
and the mine is in operation 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
New
project
The
huge and highly successful mine, which has some 1,500 km of underground
galleries, is now embarking on a new project called Esmeralda.
It involves panel caving with precaving in order to substantially
increase daily production by the year 2005.
The current total production of the mine is 95,000 tonnes per
day and will increase to 126,000 tpd. Esmeralda, which will be
the most important sector in the mine, will produce 45,000 tpd.
The mine is no stranger to Atlas Copco equipment and, to assist
in the new operation, it has purchased two Robbins raise boring
machines for boxhole drilling and raise development. A Robbins
34RH unit, weighing in at 5,455 kg, will be used in mining production
for the drilling of 15-20 m-long opening slot holes. This means
drilling approximately 800 metres of 692 mm-diameter pilot holes
for some 45-50 raises annually.
Multi-purpose
rigs
The
other new rig is a Robbins 53RH, an updated version of the proven
boxhole machine used in South Africa for many years. It will be
used for the development of ventilation shafts up to 75 m long,
totalling around 1,000 metres of drilling a year, and inclined
pilot raises (for ore passes) with an average length of 24 m.
Both applications for this rig are upwards boxhole drilling with
a diameter of 1,500 mm.
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The
Robbins 53RH:
It is a multi-purpose machine which can be used for boxhole
upwards boring and downreaming as well as conventional raiseboring. |
The two new machines are multi-purpose and can be used for boxhole
upwards boring and downreaming as well as conventional raiseboring.
Their low height means that they can be used in a cross-section
of 4 x 4 m (wide and high) for drilling vertically upwards.
El Teniente, which prides itself on being a leader in the use
of modern mining technology and equipment, chose the Atlas Copco
raise boring machines because of their high performance, reliability
and easy and comfortable operation. The equipment, which includes
two reamers of 692 mm and 1,500 mm and RCC cutters - is perfectly
matched to the drilling parameters - and it is estimated that
it will be in use at the mine for around 25 years.
Lower
costs
Comments
Manuel Montecinos, Mine Services Superintendent: "These modern
box-hole machines were bought in order to tackle this new millennium
project in the best possible way.
"They will increase performance and lower costs when compared
to our older equipment.
"Furthermore, we will be able to better handle any risks to safety
which one must expect when developing drifts in areas of primary
rock."
Atlas Copco is in charge of training operators, equipment maintenance
and will supervise operations during the first few months.
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