Optimising the construction of concrete walls for mining preparation in the Chuquicamata underground project

Authors: Silva, M; Sierralta, L; Martinez, Y; Acuña, A Download Paper

Cite As:
Silva, M, Sierralta, L, Martinez, Y & Acuña, A 2024, 'Optimising the construction of concrete walls for mining preparation in the Chuquicamata underground project', in Daniel Johansson & Håkan Schunnesson (eds), MassMin 2024: Proceedings of the International Conference & Exhibition on Mass Mining, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, pp. 1357-1374.



Abstract:
Preparation is key in Panel Caving mines, where the rate of the construction tasks, including civil works, is critical to meeting the production schedule. Of these activities, concrete walls can form bottlenecks to production preparation and impact productivity. In the Chuquicamata Underground Project, the Value Stream Mapping (VSM) approach was applied to the entire construction process of a given design of concrete wall. VSM is a tool that enables detailed identification of the unit operations in certain processes and, with this, the inefficiencies of that process. This article shows the results of the application of a VSM approach to improve the productivity of the construction of concrete walls. Through the identification of gaps and the establishment of a standard construction sequence, it was possible to increase productivity by 100%, from 4 to 8 walls per month in 1 month, with 36% more personnel. Following the completion of this initial phase, a significant improvement in construction performance was achieved, with productivity increasing from 1 to 3 concrete walls per crew per month within a period of 4 months. The critical path of the project experienced improvement, potentially bringing forward the forecasted construction milestone by approximately 3 months. This improvement has the potential to increase the Net Present Value by around 13 MUSD. The model discussed herein presents a flexible structure that could be relatively straightforward to implement in other production preparation tasks.