ABB software to support operational efficiency at one of the world's largest copper mines

ABB has received an order from Compañía Minera Doña Inés de Collahuasi (CMDIC) in Chile to upgrade the Ellipse enterprise asset management and MineMarket software solution, to help boost operations at Collahuasi mine on Chile’s Andean Plateau. The Collahuasi mine is the world’s third-largest copper operation and is one of the largest copper deposits in terms of mineral resources (9978 million tons).

As part of its project scope, ABB will provide the latest releases of software solutions and professional services for implementation, training and support. These enterprise software packages enable visibility across the process chain and provide real-time information to manage operations efficiently and reliably.

The mining sector, like several other industries, is seeing an increasing convergence of information technologies (IT) and operational technologies (OT), enabling enterprises to better understand their asset base, which is becoming ever more complex, and share those insights with the people across the organisation in order to improve planning, productivity and safety. Software solutions such as Ellipse, MineMarket and Fieldreach offer a high level of visibility across mining operations, including predictive analytics tools to optimise performance in response to ever changing input drivers, commodity prices and production volumes.

“With increasingly valuable data flowing from connected equipment and devices to operational systems in real time, this upgrade will provide enhanced visibility across the enterprise to further optimise operations,” said Massimo Danieli, managing director of the Grid Automation business unit within ABB’s Power Grids division.

“The mining industry is experiencing challenging times, making it imperative for mining companies like us to enhance operational efficiencies wherever we can,” said Francisco Carvajal, executive vice president operations, CMDIC. “ABB’s Ellipse, MineMarket and Fieldreach solutions give us a more holistic view of the condition of our assets, enabling our asset lifecycle management initiative to expedite business processes and drive quality across the value chain.”

CMDIC has been an ABB customer for more than 15 years and ABB has also supplied them with complete electrification systems including transformers, gearless mill drives and conveyor drive systems all running on ABB’s 800xA distributed control system (DCS).