During the ore comminution process, one of the relevant operational variables is the moisture content of the ore that feeds the different crushing stages. This must be measured and controlled to prevent the fine material from spilling or adhering to the chutes, conveyor belts or the different structures of the plant, causing unscheduled stoppages for cleaning tasks and thus generating operational discontinuity. Specifically, for Codelco División Andina the maximum design moisture content is 6% in order not to generate problems in the Conventional Crushing Line equipment.

Identify technological solutions to determine the total moisture and the fine fraction (-1/2 inch) of the material discharged from the primary crushing. The point considered for the measurement is the Sacrificial Conveyor, the characteristics of which are as follows:

• Capacity: 7046 tph
• Speed: 3.6 m/s
• Width: 96 in.
• Pan height: 50 cm. The scouting process could lead to the identification and selection of suppliers for a competitive sourcing or purchasing process, the scope of which will be defined according to the degree of maturity of the proposals that apply to the open innovation process, and could lead to a pilot validation test, or to an implementation if they are relevant and meet the evaluation and selection criteria defined by Codelco.

• It should consider minimal or no human intervention during measurements.
• A system that delivers the data online is desirable, with reportability in the control room or wherever the client specifies.
• The moisture range to be measured by the solution should be between 2% and 15%.
• The system must have heavy duty characteristics, with high resistance to adverse environmental and climatic conditions such as wind, fog, rain, snow, humidity, particulate material, mineral projection and impacts, among others.
• It must be compatible with the infrastructure available at Codelco Andina.
• The required degree of maturity is a TRL greater than or equal to 7, i.e. at least one prototype must have been tested in an operational environment.
• Must indicate energy and data transmission requirements.

• Consultancies and advisory services.
• Solutions requiring crushing plant shutdown and human intervention.

Implement a new moisture measurement system for fine ore at the primary crusher discharge to replace the current system and ensure operational continuity.

• Less processing and therefore less production due to plant stoppage for manual measurement.
• Low representativeness of data due to spot and discrete measurements.
• Risk of accidents due to manual measurement.

Permanently.

Moisture in the fine ore is measured by hand instrument on the conveyor belt, downstream of the primary crusher, at a frequency of 8 times/day and with the crushing plant stopped for 10 to 15 minutes at each measurement.

No new technologies have been tested.