Operation Mina Invierno
Mining is one of the main engines of development in the country, activity that concentrates 60% of all exports. In addition to providing identity, throughout the history, as a growth factor of the national economy.
In the non – metallic mining field, it stands out the beginning of operation Mina Invierno in 2013 with the production of the subbituminus coal type in Riesco Island.
In Chile, the main use of coal is for the generation of electricity. In fact, the “Sistema Interconectado del Norte Grande” (SING) and its counterpart located in the central area, “Sistema Interconectado Central” (SIC), are thermal power stations operating on coal that contribute to a significant percentage of the energy injected into such systems.
Regarding the use of coal in Magallanes, as in the past helped to solve the energy needs of the region, the new plans that create energy consider the use of coal as raw material for the production of synthetic gas (coal gasification).
Mina Invierno claims to be not only a source of economic development and progress for the Magallanes Region, but also seeks to operate in a sustainable manner by taking into account the characteristics of the community.
To do this, the company uses advanced technology to realize the extraction processes with fully trained workers in each work done, whether it is in maintenance management related to electronic, mechanical and hydraulic systems.
It also has a wide range of professionals from many specialties.
It also cares for reforestation and environmental rehabilitation through various initiatives such as revegetation of areas taken over by mining (waste dumps) , and the development of livestock, which will expand the jobs, the technical skills and the professional staff. All of this, focused on meeting high standards of safety and quality.
Chile imports a great part of its energy supplies. In this sense, the objective of Mina Invierno is to contribute to the energy independence of the country with the production of a third of the total consumption of coal, which today is brought from countries like Colombia, Australia and Indonesia.
In this way, the company hopes to reverse the figure of imports by cooperating with its coal production to the energy needs of all Chileans
In terms of safety and geomechanic stability, the exploitation of the mine is defined as a sequence, maximizing the volume of sterile to be deposit inside the pit (65%).
This technique minimizes the areas for waste dumps of rock outside the pit (386 ha), together with the reduction of lost soils, vegetation cover, terrestrial wildlife habitat and drainage networks, among other effects. On the other hand, maximizing the filling into the pit decreases the height of the lifters, facilitating the incorporation of volumes to the visual environment that assimilates the natural reliefs of the surrounding terrain
- MINING OPERATION- APPLYING THE MOBILE OPEN PIT
- EXTRACTION OF THE VEGETATION COVER
- EXTRACTION OF THE STERILE
- REVEGETATION AND INSIDE FILLING DECREASE DE SIZE OF THE MINE
- EXTRACTION OF THE COAL
- CLOSING OF THE MINE