Los Colorados Extension Project

The goal of the Los Colorados Extension Project at the world’s largest copper mine in the Atacama Desert in Chile was to increase concentrate processing capacity at the mine. A critical element of the project involved reconfiguration of the materials handling system to feed three separate concentrators rather than the two of the current configuration.

Minera Escondida Limitada (MEL) requested Adroit Engineering Pty Ltd (Adroit) to provide a peer review of the Los Colorados Extension Project Crusher & Conveyors basic engineering design completed by Tenova Takraf. Tenova TAKRAF developed the basic engineering design of the reconfigured system required for the Los Colorados Extension. Adroit Engineering’s involvement included a peer review of the design for the materials handling system. The review involved a design audit of key sections of Escondida’s large, complex conveyor system.

Design risks with the horizontal curve of one of the main conveyors were identified. Through negotiation with the EPCM contractor design changes were implemented to address the design deficiencies.

Click through our gallery: