As mining companies around the world are looking for ways to reduce emissions without compromising productivity Komatsu is expanding its line of hybrid products for mining. This technology is now being put to work at Codelco’s El Teniente Mine where a Komatsu hybrid load-haul-dump (LHD) is expected to boost productivity by 10 to 20 percent, Codelco said, while reducing emissions by upward of 25 percent.

“This will permit us to boost productivity, improve work conditions underground and reduce costs, especially in terms of ventilation,” Octavio Araneda, a vice president of operations for Codelco told Reuters.

Codelco is undergoing a 10-year, $40 billion overhaul of its aging mines, including efficiency upgrades to boost productivity and lower costs.
The executive told Reuters the truck was getting a trial run at the mine, and that the company would later evaluate the possibility of a more complete overhaul of its fleet.

Komatsu has also been working on hybrid shovels with the first Komatsu Mining P&H 4800XPC model expected to be assembled at a large Canadian mining operation soon. The Komatsu P&H 2650CX hybrid model, the first pilot machine saw evaluation trials at the ASARCO Mission copper mine in Arizona, and this machine has now been relocated to a surface mine in Colorado.

Several major miners operating in Chile, the world’s top producer of copper, are seeking to reduce carbon emissions and their use of water as supply chains come under scrutiny globally.

Last month, miner Anglo American installed a floating island of solar panels in a tailings pond associated with its flagship Los Bronces Mine outside Santiago, in a bid to boost efficiency and use of space near the metropolitan area.