First on-site rewinding completed ahead of schedule.
Baden, Switzerland, September 8, 2009 – ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, announced that the rewinding of the SAG mill stator of Minera Escondida, the worlds largest copper mine, has successfully been completed. The rewinding was done on-site and completed ahead of schedule.
The Escondida deposit is located in the North of Chile, in the Atacama Desert, 170 km southeast of the city of Antofagasta, at an altitude of 3,100 meters above sea level. The Escondida mine produced 1.05 million metric tons of fine copper in 2008, close to 8% of the world’s total copper production and approximately 23,5% of Chilean production. Productive operations began in 1990, and since October 2005 the company has also operated Escondida Norte, which is a second open pit located five km from the main pit.
For the first time in 40 years of gearless mill drive (GMD) history, ABB completed a stator rewinding on site. In a joint effort, engineers from ABB in close cooperation with its suppliers and Minera Escondida started the design process. Within six months, this team produced a complex and detailed engineering design. The new stator winding material was manufactured at Alstom factories and the equipment from Switzerland and Spain was finally shipped to Antofagasta, Chile, on a Boeing 747 cargo aircraft specially chartered for this occasion.
For training purposes, a stator dummy was manufactured in Santiago de Chile. Expert site staff from 13 countries was trained to become familiar with all possible special conditions. On July 1, some 300 people started to work in three shifts. Under a most experienced team, the rewinding job at the SAG mill was accomplished according to schedule.
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 120,000 people.