Monitoring and understanding the behavior and seismicity of the hill is a fundamental part of mining activity and in El Teniente it is part of the priority design for safety.

For this reason, the Seismic Unit maintains constant monitoring from the Integrated Operations Center (CIO), with advanced systems that process data from 130 sensors installed throughout the underground mine.

“Conditions are monitored 24 hours a day, every day, and we also have a field team from Geosupport, who carry out repairs and keep the sensors active,” explains Patricio Jorquiera, head of the Seismic Unit.

Since this is critical information, the systems are constantly improving and have two important advances. “Before, if there was a significant event, it could take 15 or 20 minutes to have the records. Today, the response time does not exceed 2 minutes, which helps a lot in making immediate decisions and knowing exactly where the event took place,” says Jorquiera.

Regarding the other improvement, the expert explains that the system now automatically processes, in a preliminary manner, the primary (P) and secondary (S) seismic waves, to determine whether or not an event is significant and, therefore, recorded.

“Currently it takes us between 5 and 6 seconds to complete the recording. Before, with the manual process, it could take up to a minute per event if it was a relevant event involving more than one station. And although all movements are reviewed by us, the system is quite accurate,” explains seismic systems operator Víctor López.

"These improvements have been noticeable and have had the advantage that the response time is much shorter. In addition to being a more manageable system, it has helped us to explain to those who come to us for consultation the doubts they have," added López.

Critical information for people's safety

The data reported by the system allows for the precise detection of where significant seismic events occurred, in order to make rapid decisions regarding evacuations and/or searches.

In addition, the Seismic Unit also analyses the behaviour of the polygons into which the mine is divided, in order to alert the units of any potential risks and thus stop tasks such as blasting or ask the personnel present to move away from the area.