Siemens receives maintenance order for Chilean copper mine

Erlangen, Germany
From the Chilean mining company Codelco (Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile) Siemens has secured an order to maintain and overhaul technical equipment in the Andina copper mine. This service agreement with the world’s largest copper producer will run for five years. The deal takes the form of a long-term partnership, under the terms of which the work done is billed according to agreed indicators such as production volume, plant availability, safety and compliance with environmental specifications. The services are provided according to the risk-based maintenance concept which Codelco introduced at Andina at the beginning of this year.

“This new order demonstrates our customer’s confidence in Siemens as a provider of sustainable service solutions”, commented Dirk Hoke, CEO of the Siemens Customer Services Division. “It further reinforces the long-standing successful cooperation between Siemens and Codelco.” In 2011 Codelco turned out roughly 1.8 million tonnes of copper, about 11% of the global total, making it the biggest producer of copper in the world. In Chile Codelco operates seven mines. The Andina mine is located in the Andes mountains and includes both open-cast and underground extraction. The yield amounts to some 248,000 tonnes of copper and approximately 7,200 tonnes of molybdenum per year.

Siemens is now responsible for servicing all the technical equipment at Andina, located 80 km northeast of Santiago. The contract covers both preventive and corrective maintenance of the following units: ore crushers, conveyor belts, grinders, flotation basins (in which the copper is separated out) and the filter plant. Also included are the molybdenum plant, the mine winder and the piping system for the copper and molybdenum concentrate. After Radomiro Tomic and Minera Gaby, Andina is the third Codelco mine in Chile for which Siemens has taken on technical maintenance tasks.

The Siemens Industry Sector (Erlangen, Germany) is the world’s leading supplier of innovative and environmentally friendly products and solutions for industrial customers. With end-to-end automation technology and industrial software, solid vertical-market expertise, and technology-based services, the Sector enhances its customers’ productivity, efficiency, and flexibility. With a global workforce of more than 100,000 employees, the Industry Sector comprises the Divisions Industry Automation, Drive Technologies and Customer Services as well as the Business Unit Metals Technologies. For more information, visit http://www.siemens.com/industry

The Siemens Customer Services Division (Erlangen, Germany) combines the worldwide service activities of the Siemens Industry Sector in the Product Lifecycle Services and Value Services Business Units. The Division provides product-related services as well as services to improve the availability, reliability, and productivity of industrial processes. A wide-ranging portfolio of environmental solutions helps industrial companies to use energy, water and equipment efficiently, reduce emissions and comply with environmental guidelines. For more information, visit http://www.siemens.com/customer-services