Komatsu, which supplied the haulage, famous that Spence’s was the biggest autonomy fleet working in Latin America.
“ The problem is to proceed collaborating with our groups and expertise to not solely preserve this operation with excessive requirements of effectivity and security, however to make it a benchmark for the whole mining trade worldwide,” Komatsu Cummins Group vp Carlos Soto mentioned within the assertion.
BHP says the transition to autonomy at Spence, which started in 2022, has demonstrated that it’s attainable to cut back publicity to dangers related to the mining trade by as much as 90%. The applied sciences additionally contribute to larger competitiveness, permitting the corporate to make use of its assets extra effectively.
“Spence in the present day is a information, the place a lot of the educational may even transfer to Escondida to proceed engaged on the way forward for mining,” BHP Minerals Americas vp of expertise, Pedro Hidalgo, mentioned in a separate assertion.
BHP’s milestone comes on the heels of the corporate finishing at $2.5 billion growth of Spence. The venture included the development of a concentrator plant to extend manufacturing and prolong the lifetime of the deposit by about 50 years.
Spence is a part of BHP’s Pampa Norte division, which incorporates the Cerro Colorado mine.