Projects

Revolutionizing a Chilean copper mine with high-tech heap leaching solutions

Chile is home to the world’s largest supply of copper, but the process of extracting it can be time-consuming and dangerous for workers – a challenge EPCM tackled with high-tech solutions at one major mine. The key to success was re-visioning how the mine handles a process called “heap leaching irrigation.”

Safety and efficiency equal success in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

“Industry 4.0” refers to combining the automation of traditional manufacturing and industrial practices with the power of leading-edge communications technology, the Internet, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. For the team here at EPCM, Industry 4.0 is much more than a buzzword; it denotes real, positive change for companies and their employees.

Implementing AI at Codelco revolutionizes mine with copper sorting machine

As the world’s largest copper producer, Codelco produces 1.7 million tons of fine copper per year. Headquartered in Chile, Codelco explores, develops, extracts and processes mineral resources that are converted into refined copper and by-products. The Radomiro Tomic Mine in Calama, Chile produces high grades of copper sold on the global market. The client had previously installed an automated copper cathode sorting machine system with little success.

Industry 4.0: Increasing throughput in manufacturing using integrated technology

Based in the US, our client is a leading North American specialty paint manufacturer. In 2020, our client was in the process of conducting a broad review of their production processes across a number of plants. In conjunction with that review, they were looking to get a clearer understanding of a specific batch manufacturing process in terms of throughput, speed, and capacity.

Driving tankhouse operation gains with cathode repair

Headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, our client is a leading worldwide provider of non-ferrous metals. As one of Europe’s largest copper producers, produces more than 1 million tonnes of marketable copper cathodes each year. In 2019, our client decided to improve the cathode repair quality in its copper operations.

Managing the impact of COVID-19 with remote commissioning of a robotic Cathode Stripping Machine

Located in Peru, Marcobre’s Mina Justa is a new copper mine development producing high purity electrolytic copper cathodes. With production starting in 2021, the cathode stripping machine project is projected to produce 160,000 tons per annum of copper contained in cathodes and concentrates.

Australian copper refinery getting state-of-the-art overhaul with EPCM ingenuity

Our team at EPCM was faced with a unique challenge when contracted to fully modernize a decades-old Australian copper refinery. Our task was to equip the BHP Olympic Dam – considered to be the world’s fourth largest copper resource – with the latest technologies and safety measures, but without expanding the footprint of the existing site.