The objective of recovering abandoned reserves and at the same time removing workers from exposure to the critical risk of pumping water-mud is being fully met at the Diablo Regimiento mine. With a team of trained and increasingly experienced operators and maintainers, the Mina Sur Superintendency announced that in March 2024 the milestone of 3 million tons of water-mud extraction was reached.

Rodrigo Andrades, Mining Manager, stressed that “we are implementing a way of working that allows us to transform mining resources into reserves safely, without exposing people.”

“The third million tons achieved in 6 months shows that this technology is here to stay because it is sustainable and has allowed operational continuity and added value to the business, not only in safety, but also in production. It has the virtue of supporting the transformation required by the division in terms of the competence of our people by strengthening the training of the workers who are part of this process,” explained Katherine Feliú, superintendent of the Mina Sur.

How does the process work?

A critical risk in underground mining is mud-water pumping, an event in which a high content of material flows violently through extraction points and can cause serious and even fatal consequences. El Teniente has areas that were no longer exploited for this reason, but which have become productive again thanks to technology that allows remote operation.

Fabián Cárdenas, automation engineer for the area, explains that “El Teniente has a significant amount of reserves that were held captive due to this risk. For this reason, historically, the Division has not extracted these minerals so as not to expose workers. However, a few years ago we began to implement automation technologies and they have had a constant growth to the point that today their performance is equal to manual equipment and allows us to extract these resources safely, without operators on board, and it is a profitable business,” he added.

The importance of teamwork

One of the aspects that has been highlighted in the evolution of mud water extraction is the participation of workers.

There are currently 26 operators trained to handle autonomous mobile equipment. The process is carried out through the operation of LHD loader shovels that are controlled remotely from the mine and from the Integrated Operations Center in Rancagua, without exposure.

“The operators have been very collaborative in providing ideas. One of the keys has been that this process has been open and a large part of what has been done has been their ideas. They have had the ability to express their ideas, to develop them and generate modifications even to the designs,” explained Fabián Cárdenas.

Ricardo Cornejo, shift coordinator for Group 2, highlighted the importance of teamwork. “The issue of automation has been a long process that has required a cultural change. Not only was a manual operator brought into teleoperation, but a team was formed and there is a solid idea to move forward together.”

His colleague Karl Hedberg, an expert operator and instructor, recalled that “when this started we were four old people and today we are 26 thanks to the training we have carried out. For the operators there is a radical change because they are far from the risk of occupational diseases and accidents.”

“The most notable thing is the safety because we are not exposed if there is any pumping, and we also have no noise or dust. It is a task in very favorable conditions for the operator. We train and get into the rhythm. If at first it was viewed with skepticism, today everyone wants to be here,” acknowledged Cristian Esparza, operator.

Francisco Ávila Vázquez, shift manager of Group 2, commented that “it was challenging when we started. We set up a couple of shovels, we acquired knowledge and today we have almost 40% of the crew trained to operate remotely. I feel that more challenges are coming and as a team we feel prepared to continue fulfilling our promise.”