{"id":1145870,"date":"2019-10-25T08:15:03","date_gmt":"2019-10-25T13:15:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/?p=1005170"},"modified":"2019-10-25T08:15:03","modified_gmt":"2019-10-25T13:15:03","slug":"abb-mill-drives-accelerate-copper-ore-extraction-at-mina-de-cobre-in-panama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/?p=1145870","title":{"rendered":"ABB mill drives accelerate copper ore extraction at Mina de Cobre in Panama"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Technology company ABB announced the deployment of six ABB Gearless Mill Drives in Panama, resulting in the country&#8217;s first copper ore extraction. The process is taking place later this month at First Quantum Minerals&#8217; (TSX<g class=\"gr_ gr_3 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear Style replaceWithoutSep\" id=\"3\" data-gr-id=\"3\">:FM<\/g>) Mina de Cobre.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class='d-flex justify-content-center'>\n<div id='div-gpt-ad-1561499308230-0'><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1561499308230-0');});<\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The mill drives, which according to ABB are the most powerful systems on the market for semi-autogenous, ball and autogenous mills, have been installed since late last year and are all now in continuous operation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignright\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>ABB also installed an extended automation system and a remote service Centre at Mina de Cobre<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Two 28 MW gearless mill drive systems are operating at First Quantum&#8217;s 40-foot SAG mills and four 16.5 MW GMDS are employed in 26 football mills along with associated control systems.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Gearless mill drives are the &#8216;workhorses&#8217; for grinding operations which are at the heart of any mine,&#8221; said Rene Chac\u00f3n, project manager at ABB for Mina de Cobre. &#8220;They allow operators to react to changes in ore characteristics due to variable speed and, by optimizing the process, are more efficient in their use of grinding power.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>According to Chac\u00f3n, the mill drives can operate under the most extreme environmental conditions, such as the Panamanian humid heat, as well as in high altitudes or remote locations.<\/p>\n<p>Mina de Cobre spans 13,600 hectares and is located 120 kilometers west of Panama City in the Col\u00f3n province.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The project has copper deposits that are expected to be explored over the next 30 to 40 years and is forecast to contribute up to 5% of the country&#8217;s GDP.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Project owner First Quantum Minerals announced that first copper ore extraction will take place ahead of schedule.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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