Komatsu and Codelco to conduct trial of new tunnel excavation method
8 July 2022Japanese machinery manufacturer Komatsu Ltd and Chile’s state-owned mining company and the world’s largest copper producer, Codelco, are to trial a new tunnel excavation method using Komatsu's newly developed mining TBM.
The aim of the trial, which will start in 2024 at Codelco's Chuquicamata mine in Chile is to speed up the potential introduction of the new technology. The collaboration is with Komatsu subsidiary, Komatsu Cummins Chile Ltd.
Demand for underground mining equipment is expected to increase along with global demand for mineral resources that require increasingly deeper mining operations.
Image Credit: Komatsu
Komatsu developed the first TBM for rock excavation in 1963 for use in civil engineering in Japan. Since then it has introduced more than 2,300 TBMs, including its micro tunnelling machine, to the market. The mining TBM is equipped with new technologies that enable adaptability to small curves, reversing, and passing intersections in hard rock tunnel excavation. Komatsu says the technology improves the flexibility of the equipment and enables excavation of tunnels according to the more unique designs of each mine.
To mitigate climate change and use more environmentally sensitive approaches, Komatsu has been focusing on the development of equipment for underground hard rock mining under the slogan of “No Blasting”, “No Batch”, “No Diesel”.