The contract worth $20m includes supply of underground loaders, face drill rigs, rock bolting rigs and mine trucks
Epiroc's Minetruck MT65 is part of the order by Codelco. (Credit: Epiroc)
Swedish mining equipment maker Epiroc has secured a large equipment and service contract from Codelco for use at its Chuquicamata mine in northern Chile.
The contract worth $20m includes supply of underground loaders, face drill rigs, rock bolting rigs and mine trucks for the underground mine project.
Epiroc will deliver multiple units of the Scooptram ST1030 and ST18 loader, the Boomer S2 face drilling rig, the Boltec M bolting machine, and the Minetruck MT65, a high payload capacity underground truck.
The company is expected to deliver the equipment later this year.
Codelco sourcing category manager Juan Mariscal said: “Epiroc was chosen because it complied with all the technical, safety and performance requirements that Codelco demanded for the Chuquicamata Underground Mine Project, while being the supplier that provided the best economic proposal for all its equipment as a whole.”
Machines delivered by Epiroc will be equipped with 6th Sense solutions for automation
The machines delivered by Epiroc will be equipped with 6th Sense solutions for automation, connectivity and information management.
The solutions consists of Epiroc’s Rig Control System, RCS, which allows the equipment to be ready for automation and remote control, and Epiroc’s Certiq system, which enables intelligent monitoring of machine performance and productivity in real-time.
Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, opened the Chuquicamata underground mine in 2019.
Currently, the century-old copper and gold mine is being transformed from the world’s largest open-pit mine into a high-technological underground operation.
The transformation is expected to extend the useful mine life of Chuquicamata by 40 years.
In September last year, Epiroc secured a $68m (£54.85m) contract from Codelco for service of mining equipment at the Andina copper mine in Chile.
The seven-year full-service contract includes on-site Epiroc service technicians maintaining equipment, including the company’s Pit Viper 351 and FlexiROC drilling rigs.