VALUE GENERATION AT EL TENIENTE MINE BY USING THE MAIN TRANSPORT

SYSTEM FLEXIBILITY

Antonio Pinochet Sch., Hugo Constanzo B. & Mauricio Larraín M.

CODELCO, El Teniente Division, Chile

ABSTRACT

At El Teniente mine there are mineral resources with economic value, that are not exploited due to the
restriction given by the material handling capacity in the main transport system, and to the existence of
higher copper grades reserves in other locations. Considering the current scenario of copper prices, the
mine planning team of El Teniente put their efforts on capitalizing the opportunity of transforming these
mineral resources into reserves, and to incorporate them into the production plan.
In order to accomplish with this goal, the mine planners performed a three-stage analysis which include
detecting remaining mineral resources with potential to be extracted and overcapacities and bottlenecks
in the current transportation systems, and also a study of the technical feasibility of removing the
bottlenecks with marginal investments. This paper describes the process followed to increase reserves
compromised in the mine plan, and shows a study case based on the increase of the capacity at Teniente 5
Railway System, making use of its flexibility.

Value Generation at El Teniente mine by using the main transport system Flexibility 1
INTRODUCTION

The ore extracted from El Teniente mine is processed in two benefit plants: The Colón plant, which during
2010 reached a production of 120.000 t/d and which is supplied by the underground mine through the
Teniente 8 railroad system and the Sewell plant, which in the the same year produced 12.000 t/d of ore
coming from the sectors located over the level 2.300 masl in the underground mine. In this case, the ore is
hauled by the Teniente 5Norte railway system. Figure 1 shows schematically the material handling system
of El teniente mine.

Rajo  Sur  mine

Tte.  4Sur  mine Puente/Fortuna   mine

Diablo  Rgto.  mine

Reservas  Norte  mine Crushed Tte.  5  Norte  Railroad

Pilar  Norte  mine Tte.  8  

ROM
Railroad
Esmeralda  mine

Pipa  Norte  mine

Colón  Plant Sewell  Plant
Sur  Andes  Pipa  mine

Figure 1: Material handling at El Teniente Mine

The Rajo Sur is an open pit worksite with a productive potential of 20.000 t/d which would keep the
Sewell plant producing until 2018. The latest projection of the Rajo Sur engineering is delaying the start
of the production from March to September of 2011, causing a shortage of ore programmed in the
Division’s mid-term mine plan.

TENIENTE 5 HAULING LEVEL

The Teniente 5 hauling level is located in the level 2.283 inside El Teniente mine. There, two railway
systems coexist; the Teniente 5Norte and the Teniente 5Sur railroads.

Tte.  4Sur  mine Puente/Fortuna   mines

Tte.  5Sur  railroad Tte.  5Norte  railroad

OP15/OP16 OP13

Tte.  8  railroad
crushed fleet

Colón  plant Sewell  plant

Figure 2: Material handling at Teniente 5 hauling level

Figure 2 shows a simplified flow diagram of the material handling at the Teniente 5 hauling level. It can
be observed that the material hauled by El Teniente 5Sur has as its only destination the Colon plant. The
ore hauled by the Teniente 5Norte railway has the flexibility to unload both at the Sewell plant and at the
OP13 of the Teniente 8 Railway, which transports the ore to the Colón plant. In general terms, this
flexibility is used in contingency situations, giving the priority to unload at the Sewell plant.

Value Generation at El Teniente mine by using the main transport system Flexibility 2
Figure 3 shows a diagram of the railroad tracks in the Teniente 5 hauling level. The convoys of the
Teniente 5Norte railroad have a smaller gauge than the ones of the Teniente 5Sur, hence both operate
independently, except for the operations taking place at the XC60, which has a third track (double-gauge)
allowing the traffic of convoys from both railroads.

OP´s Rajo

OP13
Two-­‐Way
OP16

Unload OP15
Sewell
Hw dr
Punta  de   Loop
Rieles
XC104
Unload chute
Load  point OP´s Rajo
Tte.  5Norte  track
Tte.  5Sur  track
Shared track (double-­‐gauge)

Figure 3: Diagram of the tracks in Teniente 5 hauling level (2011)

BASE SCENARIO – PQ2011/YEAR 2012

The five-year mining plan (PQ2011) considered an average production for 2012 of 131.000 t/d, with
12.222 t/d hauled by the Teniente 5Norte Railroad towards the Sewell plant and 118.778 t/d hauled by the
Teniente 8 railroad and processed at the Colón plant. Of these, 17.095 t/d belong to the ore coming from
the Teniente 4 Sur mine, which intermediate transport is performed by the Teniente 5Sur railroad, totalling
29.137 t/d produced by the Teniente 5 hauling level. Table 1 shows monthly detail of ore flow during
2011 planned in PQ2011.

Mine Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Anual
days 30 29 31 30 30 30 31 31 28 31 30 30 361

Teniente  5  hauling  level

Tte.  4Sur  to  Sewell t/d 8,052 8,013 1,313
Rajo  Sur t/d 12,650 12,650 12,650 12,650 12,650 12,650 12,650 12,650 12,650 12,650 10,583
Puente/Fortuna t/d 2,000 2,000 327

Tte.  5Norte  Railroad  (Sewell) t/d 10,052 10,013 12,650 12,650 12,650 12,650 12,650 12,650 12,650 12,650 12,650 12,650 12,222
Tte.  5Sur  Railroad  (Colón)
t/dt/d 12,423 11,939 20,846 20,449 20,342 19,967 18,624 17,661 16,783 15,565 15,174 15,032 17,095
Total  Teniente  5  hauling  level t/d 22,474 21,952 33,496 33,099 32,992 32,617 31,274 30,311 29,433 28,215 27,824 27,682 29,317
t/d
Teniente  8  hauling  level
Tte.  4Sur  to  Colón t/d 12,423 11,939 20,846 20,449 20,342 19,967 18,624 17,661 16,783 15,565 15,174 15,032 17,095
Diablo  Regimiento  (Crushed) t/d 17,854 19,219 18,650 19,141 19,624 20,754 19,166 21,285 20,543 20,800 21,089 22,134 20,020
Pipa  Norte  (Crushed) t/d 9,192 9,538 5,186 4,129 3,766 3,296 4,299 5,428 3,500 3,500 3,500 3,500 4,894

Tte.  8  railroad  (Crushed  fleet) t/d 39,469 40,697 44,682 43,718 43,732 44,017 42,088 44,373 40,826 39,865 39,763 40,666 42,010
Tte.  8  rairoad  (ROM  fleet) t/d 72,987 73,283 78,337 78,437 79,144 79,020 76,139 75,128 76,081 76,497 77,916 78,119 76,768

Total  Teniente  8  hauling  level t/d 112,456 113,979 123,018 122,155 122,876 123,037 118,227 119,501 116,907 116,362 117,679 118,784 118,778

TOTAL  EL  TENIENTE t/d 122,508 123,992 135,668 134,805 135,526 135,687 130,877 132,151 129,557 129,012 130,329 131,434 131,000
Table 1: Year 2012 of the production plan for the 2011-2015 five-year period plan

The plan considered that from March 2012 all the ore processed at the Sewell plant would come from the
Rajo Sur mine through the Teniente 5Norte Railroad. The ore remaining in the underground mine would
be programmed for the Teniente 8 railroad to feed the Colón plant.

Figure 4 shows the daily tonnage planned for Teniente 8 railroad at the crushed and ROM (Run Of Mine)
ore lines, and also the details on the Tte. 4Sur mine input through the crushed ore line to the Colón and

Value Generation at El Teniente mine by using the main transport system Flexibility 3
Sewell plants. It can be observed that during March, the Tte. 4Sur input to the Colón plant has a raise of
aproximately 9.000 t/d due to the inclusion of the ore which during January and February was
programmed to the Sewell plant. This ore allows to make the crushed ore haulage of the Teniente 8
railroad reach full capacity which, as contemplated in the PQ2011 planning exercise, equals to 45.000 t/d.

Colon  plant´s  scheduled  production,  year  2012 Tte.  4Sur´s  scheduled  production,  year  2012
140,000 25,000
120,000
Production  (t/d)

20,000

Production  (t/d)
100,000
80,000 15,000
60,000
10,000
40,000
20,000 5,000
0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Colón  ROM  line Colón  crushed  line
Tte.  4Sur  by  crushed  ore  line Railroad  Tte.  8  crushed  line  capacity Tte.  4Sur  to  Sewell  plant Tte.  4Sur  to  Colón  plant

Figure 4: Production crushed/ROM mineral at railroad Teniente 8 year 2012, PQ2011

NEW SCENARIO

For the new planning exercise at 2012 (PQ2012) the Rajo Sur project engineering updates the production
starting date from March to September of 2012, considering a ramp-up period of 4 months. Aditionally, it
was established that the operational minimum capacity of the Sewell plant should be 12.000 t/d, due to the
flow needed to haul pulp to the concentrator at the Colón plant. This situation causes a feeding shortage to
the Sewell plant between the months of March and October. Figure 5 shows the production-to-plant base
scenario, considering the PQ2011 for the underground mine and the new production start scenario for
Rajo Sur mine.

140,000
120,000
Production  (t/d)

100,000
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Colón Sewell PQ2011

Figure 5: PQ2011/2012 production plan with updated Rajo Sur production start date

MITIGATION INITIATIVES FOR RAJO SUR PROJECT RE-SCHEDULE

To face the new ore scenario (due to the change in the production start date of the Rajo Sur project) a set
of measures which permit to keep the Sewell plant supplied were analysed, in order to mitigate possible
drops in ore supplies for the Colón plant. The analysed measures include reprogramming the production of
the underground mine assigned to the Sewell plant, increasing the underground mine reserves by raising
the economical heights and incorporing contingency projects, and minor layout changes in the railroad
tracks at the Teniente 5 hauling level to endure the reprogramming of the plants supply.All the solutions

Value Generation at El Teniente mine by using the main transport system Flexibility 4
intended to capture value using the haulage systems flexibility of El Teniente mine to mitigate the effect
of the deviations concerning the mining plan. Figure 6 shows the operational setup of the hauling level
Teniente 5.
Route Tte5  Railroad
Ruta   S ur Tte.  5Sur
Ruta  
Route Tte5  Railroad
Norte Tte.  5Norte
OP13 Ruta  Tte5  Conexiones
New  Route with junctions
Front  Caving  
OP16 Sub4

OP15 Área   XC40

Productiva
XC45

XC50

XC104 XC55

XC60

XC64
Front  Caving   XC71
Isla Tte.  4Sur  
Mine

Figure 6: Operational setup Teniente 5 hauling level

In the base scenario, the Teniente 5Norte railroad has an exit leading to the unload points through the
XC64 and XC71, travelling acroos the XC104. For the new design scenario that includes the the junctions
the XC60 and the XC64 depart in that direction to unload across the Loop, avoiding positioning
maneuvers for convoys which are loaded in the XC60. The junction between the XC105 and XC106
provides a cross zone for the convoys which unload in the OP13. The Teniente 5Sur railroad has an exit to
unload through the XC55. At the base scenario the convoys take the Loop until the OP15 and OP16. With
the new setup it is taken advantage of the direct access to the OP’s, reducing congestion with the convoys
of the Teniente 5Norte railroad ,which now travel across the Loop.

HAULAGE CAPACITY ESTIMATION

To estimate the haulage capacity at the Teniente 5 hauling level, there were considered rules and
operational parameters, and the current ore capacities from the production´s areas of the mine. With this
information a position matrix of the convoys is generated at one-minute intervals for one shift and with
different operational setups. In this way, the maximum number of turns per shift of the convoys fleet is
estimated, determining the feasibility to haul the ore offered by the mine.

UNLOAD RAIL LOAD UNLOAD RAIL LOAD

09:50
08:55

10:00
09:10

09:15 10:10

09:25

Figure 7: Example of haulage cycle capacity estimation by position matrix method

Value Generation at El Teniente mine by using the main transport system Flexibility 5
Figure 7 shows graphically the results obtained from the position matrix, for a typical operation cycle for
two loading points and three unloading points, with 3 convoys assigned with an operational setup of two
coupled convoys and one independent.

The methodology used, estimates the position of a convoy considering the distances, speeds and times in
single load and unload operations. Besides, certain traffic rules are followed, such as:

• Two trains can not travel in opposite directions on a single track

• Two trains travelling in the same direction that share a single track keep a safe distance
• Waiting points are produced at the loading points, unloading points or two-way zones enabled for
crossing.

This cycle is reproduced for a complete shift and a maximum operational is obtained. With the purpose of
incorporating the operational interferences and feeding variations, the position matrix results are calibrated
by the use of an efficiency factor, corresponding to the quotient between the percentile 10 and the average
productivity, considering the data from the operational results obtained in the last 3 years.

Parameters

To estimate the haulage capacity of each of the railroad systems of the Teniente 5 hauling level, a set of
parameters were used, obtained from measurements taken during the operation.

Tte.  5Norte  Railroad Tte.  5Sur  Railroad

Fleet 4  Trains 4  Trains
Cars  per  train 16  Cars 12  Cars
Car  load  factor 17  Ton 18  Ton
Railroad  Cross XC-­‐60 XC-­‐64 XC-­‐71 XC-­‐106 RAJO XC-­‐40 XC-­‐45 XC-­‐50 XC-­‐55 XC-­‐60
Load  Time  (min) 9 35 18 9 20 9 9 9 9 9
Destination Sewell OP13 Sewell OP13 Sewell OP13 Sewell OP13 Sewell OP13 OP  15/16 OP  15/16 OP  15/16 OP  15/16 OP  15/16
Loading  time  (min) 20 22 20 22 20 22 20 22 20 22 12 12 12 12 12
Average  distance  (m) 3,960 2,056 3,660 2,050 3,660 2,050 2,200 2,050 1,800 800 3,490 3,490 3,490 3,490 3,490
Table 2: Operational parameters Teniente 5Norte and Teniente 5Sur railroads

Table 2 shows the fleet features, loading and unloading time intervals, and also the haulage average
distance for each operation route. Figure 8 shows the distance travelled by the convoys each minute,
considering the speeds in every section of the tracks in the travel from the dumps in the Sewell plant to the
XC64

Track  Section Distance  (m) Speed  (km/h) Speed  (m/s) Time  (s) Time  (min)
Sewell  Plant  to  Two  Way  Railroad 1,438 18 5.0 288 5
Two  Way  Railroad  to  OP-­‐107  Split 426 14 3.9 110 2
OP-­‐107  Split  to  Loading  Area 1,967 13 3.6 545 10

Figure 8: Distance travelled per minute in route, Sewell plant dumps XC64

Value Generation at El Teniente mine by using the main transport system Flexibility 6
Results

The estimated haulage capacity depends on the ore offer in every cross, this due to the different haulage
distances and operational conditions given in the loading points, and the operational setup used by the
convoys. Based on the preliminary ore offer estimations made for year 2012, a haulage capacity of the
Teniente 5 hauling level can be stated.

January-August September-December
Convoy Convoy
Fleet t/d Fleet t/d
Railroad Railroad  Cross Unit 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
XC40/45 4 4 2,592
Turns/Shift

XC50 2 7 9 5,832 6 3 9 5,832

XC55 6 6 12 7,776 4 7 11 7,128
Tte.  5Sur XC60 0 1 7 8 5,184
Total 6 7 6 6 25 16,200 7 7 7 7 28 18,144
Average  cycle  time min 60 57 39 39 49 55 47 39 45 47
hour/Shift hr 6.0 6.7 3.9 3.9 5.1 6.5 5.5 4.6 5.3 5.4
XC60 6 3 9 7,344 3 3 2,448
Turns/Shift

XC64 2 2 3 7 5,712 4 2 6 4,896

XC71/106 2 1 3 2,448
Tte.  5Norte Rajo  Sur 7 6 6 19 15,504
Total 6 5 4 4 19 15,504 7 6 6 4 5 28 22,848
Average  cycle  time min 71 82 85 91.75 81 60 60 60 99 82.2 70
hour/Shift hr 7.1 6.9 5.6 6.1 6.4 7.0 6.0 6.0 6.6 6.9 6.5
Table 3: Position matrix results

Table 3 shows the results obtained by the position matrix in periods January-August and September-
December. From this simple method it can be estimated the maximum daily capacity for each fleet and ore
offer setup. It can be observed that the operation of a 5th convoy is required to haul the 7.000 t/d from the
subterranean mine to the OP13 during the last months.

Railroad  Tte.  5Sur Railroad  Tte.  5Norte

 25,000  15,000  25,000  15,000
 13,000  13,000
Average  distance  (m)

Average  distance  (m)

 20,000  20,000
 11,000  11,000
Production  (t/d)

Production  (t/d)

 15,000  9,000  15,000  9,000

 7,000  7,000
 10,000  5,000  10,000  5,000
 3,000  3,000
 5,000  5,000
 1,000  1,000
 -­‐ -­‐1,000  -­‐ -­‐1,000
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Ore  supply Estimated  haulage  capacity Average  distance Ore  supply Estimated  haulage  capacity Average  distance

Figure 9: haulage capacity Tenente 5Norte railroad for year 2012.

Figure 9 shows for each year of the month, the haulage requirement, the average distance travelled by the
convoys and the estimated haulage capacity for the Teniente 5 hauling level railroad systems. It can be
observed that for the Teniente 5Norte (September until December) the haulage average distance gets
reduced due to the ore loaded in the OP’s of the Rajo Sur. The smaller distance increases the haulage
capacity to 22.000 t/d, distributed in 15.000 t/d processed by the Sewell plant coming from Rajo Sur and
7.000 t/d from the underground mine unloaded in the OP13 to be processed at the Colón plant. The
estimated haulage capacity of the Teniente 5Sur railroad for the year 2012 gets increased by the end of
the year, due to the fact that part of the production gets restored from the XC60 to make room for the ore
hauled from Rajo Sur by the Teniente 5Norte railroad.

Value Generation at El Teniente mine by using the main transport system Flexibility 7
Price  scenario Copper  price  ( ₵/lb.) TC/RC  (₵/lb.) Aditional  copper  (dmt) Income  (K$) Investment  (K$) Operational  Cost  (K$) NPV  (K$)
Low 363 37 17,246 123,981 15,360 78,277 30,344
Medium 405 39 17,246 139,216 15,360 78,277 45,579
Hight 449 41 17,246 155,169 15,360 78,277 61,532
Table 4: Economic evaluation at different price scenarios

For the year 2012 and as a result of the implementation of proposed mitigation initiatives, the copper in
concentrate increases in 17,2 Kt, taking as reference the scenario without projects and with the re-schedule
of the Rajo Sur project. Table 4 shows the economic evaluation considering three scenarios of copper
price. It is observed that for all price scenarios the NPV is positive. Assigning an equal probability of
occurrence to the three scenarios the expected NPV is M$ 45,8.

Mine Mes Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Anual
Días 30 29 31 30 30 30 31 31 28 31 30 30 361

Teniente  5  hauling  level

Tte.  4Sur  to  Sewell tpd 11,500 11,500 11,800 11,800 11,800 11,800 11,800 11,800 9,000 6,000 2,000 9,241
Puente/Fortuna tpd 2,000 2,000 1,200 430
FC  Isla tpd 500 500 1,000 2,200 2,200 2,200 2,200 2,200 1,094
Rajo  Sur tpd 5,000 8,000 12,500 15,000 3,360

Tte.  5Norte  railroad  to  Sewell tpd 14,000 14,000 14,000 14,000 14,000 14,000 14,000 14,000 14,000 14,000 14,500 15,000 14,125
Tte.  5Norte  railroad  to  Colón tpd 2,000 5,000 7,000 1,169

Total  Tte.  5Norte  Railroad tpd 14,000 14,000 14,000 14,000 14,000 14,000 14,000 14,000 14,000 16,000 19,500 22,000 15,294
Tte.  4Sur  Colón  (  Tte.  5Sur  railroad) tpd 11,044 11,108 10,591 2,551 9,062 9,690 8,379 8,416 10,990 11,669 12,271 12,110 9,813
FC  Sub  4  Colón    (Tte.  5Sur  railroad) tpd 1,000 1,500 2,000 3,000 3,500 4,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 4,000 3,253

Tte.  5Sur  railroad tpd 12,044 12,608 12,591 5,551 12,562 13,690 12,379 12,416 14,990 15,669 16,271 16,110 13,066
Total  Teniente  5  hauling  level tpd 26,044 26,608 26,591 19,551 26,562 27,690 26,379 26,416 28,990 31,669 35,771 38,110 28,360

Teniente  8  hauling  level

Tte.  5Sur  railroad  (crushed  ore) tpd 12,044 12,608 12,591 5,551 12,562 13,690 12,379 12,416 14,990 15,669 16,271 16,110 13,066
Diablo  Regimiento  (crushed  ore) tpd 19,728 19,595 21,123 19,418 21,435 21,321 18,980 19,914 18,830 16,987 17,655 16,966 19,330
Pipa  Norte  (crushed) tpd 5,744 5,999 6,516 2,915 4,011 4,154 3,837 3,946 5,197 8,183 10,288 12,686 6,123

Tte.  8  railroad  (crushed  ore  fleet) tpd 37,516 38,202 40,230 27,884 38,008 39,165 35,195 36,276 39,017 40,840 44,214 45,761 38,519
Tte.  8  railroad  (ROM  ore  fleet) tpd 78,219 78,144 78,304 75,703 81,260 81,893 81,476 80,932 80,483 80,031 78,624 77,120 79,355
Total  Teniente  8  hauling  level tpd 115,735 116,346 118,534 103,587 119,268 121,058 116,671 117,208 119,500 120,871 122,837 122,881 117,875

TOTAL  EL  TENIENTE tpd 129,735 130,346 132,534 117,587 133,268 135,058 130,671 131,208 133,500 134,871 137,337 137,881 132,000
Table 5: Year 2012 of the production plan for the 5-year period 2012-2016 (PQ2012)

Table 5 shows the monthly detail of the ore flows for the year 2012 planned in the PQ2012. Rajo Sur
delays its production start date for the month of September, giving room for a greater production from the
underground mine destined to the Sewell plant.

To meet the new ore demands, the inputs of the Tte. 4Sur mine will be raised, increasing the reserves by
the XC64 and sending all the production of the XC60 to the Sewell plant until the production Rajo Sur
starts. Besides, the FC Isla project will be incorpored via XC71, which reaches a productive margin of
2.200 t/d and exhausts its reserves in the month of August. Because of this, the ore programmed for the
Sewell plant in the PQ2012 gets increased in 1.28MT compared to the PQ2011.

To restore the production of the XC60 which in the PQ2011 was destined to the Colón Plant, the project
FC Sub4 was incorporated to the production plan, which reached its productive margin of 4.000 t/d in the
month of June and allows to diminish the production shortage of the crushed ore fleet of the Teniente 8
railroad. During the month of December the Teniente 5 hauling level reached its highest production,
hauling 22.000 t/d through Teniente 5Norte and 16.110 t/d through Teniente 5Sur railroads, completing
38.110 t/d of ore hauled.

Value Generation at El Teniente mine by using the main transport system Flexibility 8
 Hauled  ore  at  Teniente  5  level  (t/d) 30,000 16,000

Ore  processed  at  Sewell  (t/d)

14,000 1,094
25,000 14,125
3,253 25,000
12,000
20,000 103 1,094 12,222
7,928 10,000
18,735 6,113
7,222 8,031
15,000 8,000
6,000
10,000
4,000
5,000
2,000
0 0

Sewell
PQ2011

Colón

Puente/

FC  Isla

FC  Sub  4

PQ  2012
4Sur  a Sewell Rajo  Sur Tte.  4Sur Front  Caving Sewell

Fortuna
4Sur
Tte.
Tte.  5

Tte.

Colón

Tte.  5
PQ2011 XC60/64 Isla PQ2012

Figure 10: Gap of the ore haulage at Teniente 5 hauling level, PQ2011 versus PQ 2012.

Figure 10: Gap of the ore haulage at Teniente 5 hauling level, PQ2011 versus PQ 2012.Figure 10 show the
differences between the PQ2011 and PQ2012 in the Tonnage programmed by Sewell for the year 2012
and the balance between the PQ2011 and the PQ2012 in the ore coming from the underground mine which
is transported by the Teniente 5 hauling level. It is observed than the tonnage loss caused by the delay of
the Rajo Sur project reaches to 7.222 t/d. This is restored using the reserves from the underground mine.
As a whole, between the Teniente 4Sur reserve increase and the Front Caving projects, the underground
reserves compromised in the mining plan 2012 are increased in 6.265 t7d, diminishing the global shortage
caused by the delay of the Rajo sur in an 87%.

CONCLUSIONS

To meet the haulage requirements from the underground mine to the Sewell plant, it is required to develop
junctions in the Teniente 5 hauling level. These will allow to separate the haulage circuits of the Teniente
5 Norte and 5 Sur Railroads and also reduce the haulage distances and the operational interferences.

The measures adopted to mitigate the delay of the Rajo Sur project allow to increase the ammount of ore
that will be processed by the Sewell Plant in 2012, from 12.222 t/d to 14.125 t/d (PQ2012)

The additional ore coming from the underground mine will be obtained by extracting marginal reserves of
the 4 Sur mine and by incorporating 2 projects from Front Caving, obtaining a net increase in the
underground mine production of 6.265 t/d for year 2012.

The use of the additional haulage capacity generated by the changes in the Teniente 5 Norte and Sur
Railroads, allows to increase the ore reserves that come from the underground mine for the year 2012,
increasing the NPV in 45,8 M$, regarding the analysis of the Base Scenario (considering the re-schedule
of Rajo Sur)

REFERENCES

Castro J.M., Larraín M. (2011) A tactical way to support the long-term mining plans production
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