Swiss-Swedish multinational technology group ABB has announced that it has commissioned six gearless mill drives (GMDs) at the openpit Mina de Cobre copper mine, in the Central American Republic of Panama, ahead of schedule. Installation of the GMDs started late last year. ABB describes them as the most powerful mill drive systems for semi-autogenous grinding (SAG), ball and autogenous mills, that are currently on the market. ABB supplied two 28 MW GMDs and four 16.5 MW GMDs. The two larger units are working in the mine’s 40 foot SAG mills while the four smaller units are used in its 26 football mills. ABB also supplied the associated control systems.
