How Engineers Moved a Giant Crusher System 2.8 Miles Across a Chilean Mine
BY AsphaltPro Staff
Engineering move takes enormous crushing operation from site A to site B in Chile
When Codelco, Chile’s state-owned copper mining company, needed to move key crusher parts from one site to another, management sought support from Mammoet. There were 16 components, including the “big six” largest items that made up the crusher system.
Codelco approached Mammoet for guidance on the best heavy lifting and heavy transport equipment, as well as engineering solutions to achieve its goal of transporting operations about 2.8 miles (4.5 kilometers) to its next mining site.
Planning the route, methodology and the heavy lifting and transport equipment to carry out the operation was the first step, with engineers at Mammoet supporting throughout every stage.
“We worked with Codelco for a year and a half on the planning,” explained Mammoet Sales Manager Vanessa Labana. The team created route plans and drawings to include the correct slope, turn ratios and width of the road to facilitate the fastest transport route.
One of the biggest challenges was sourcing and mobilizing all the equipment, and personnel, for a project of this scale from Mammoet’s branches. By pooling its global resources, Mammoet was able to meet this challenge. To bolster the equipment that was already available in Chile, self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs) came from Malaysia, skidding systems from the United States, and additional equipment was sourced from Colombia.
Typically, this plant will stay in location for around 10 years before the inevitable move must happen. When it does, planning an efficient method of disassembly with the least number of cuttings is essential to ensure productivity stays as high as possible. Photos courtesy of Mammoet
There were six key components to relocate, and the method for removal and transporting was different for each. Most were lifted using climbing jacks and then relocated with SPMTs fitted with support beams.
For the drive system, this same approach was used, but with the addition of a skidding system. This was used to slide the component 39 feet (12 meters), before it could be jacked down into its final position.
The two heaviest items to perform heavy transport and heavy lifting for were the silo (1,100 tonnes) and crusher itself (1,300 tonnes), with the latter being the most complex of the six cargo movements.
“This was a big challenge,” Labana said. “We created a support beam that was especially adapted for this cargo. We had to make some alterations to our original beams by applying lead reinforcements on top, at the four lifting points, to prevent deformation.”
The crusher was extracted from its housing using skid tracks and skid shoes, before being lifted into the air high enough for SPMTs to move underneath. Lashing was used to add additional support and hold everything in position during the journey.
An area close to the demobilization location was created to allow the crusher to be rotated 180 degrees so it would be in the correct position for installation. Once it arrived at the installation site, the earlier process was repeated in reverse, with SPMT trailers lowering the cargo onto skid tracks to slide it back into its new position.
The gallery unit was also a challenge, due to the ground soil not being completely level, with a 1% slope. As a result, two hydraulic jacks were used to perform heavy lifting on its back end at three different intervals to keep everything level as it was skidded forward.
The operation was completed in just over a month, taking less time than was expected, due to crusher parts being removed as complete units. This allowed the mine to get back up and running quickly.