MMG Las Bambas in Peru
ISG provides containers to Las Bambas
In the last months of 2014, the MMG company made a bidding for the purchase of 1,200 special containers to move the copper concentrate from its Las Bambas mine to the Port of Matarani, which was awarded to the ISG company.
Garry Pinder, Managing Director of ISG noted: “It is with great pride to announce that we have won the MMG bidding. ISG is the leading company in the design and production of specialized bulk containers for the world’s most prestigious companies, and we are excited to work with MMG”. Gustavo Gómez, President of Las Bambas, for his part, added: “We are looking for a solution that offers the greatest safety for transportation and care for the environment. This was possible under the joint work of the Australian engineering company ISG and the Chinese company CIMC. The Solution offered by ISG under our agreement is a step forward, towards the initial production of our mine ”.
INNOVATING OUTSIDE ITS LIMITS
The logistical problem to be solved was that the road weight limit was exceeded when using 8 meter long trailers and 12 meter train cars loaded with 2 containers of 20 feet each, loaded with copper concentrates. Loading only a 20-foot container was inefficient as the allowable load capacity from the mine to the railroad was not maximized. The solution was to design a 4-meter container to load 2 units per truck, with lids to seal them, and compatible with the automatic turner.
LOAD IN THE MINE
The lids are removed from the container upon arrival at the mine, using a “lid lifter” specially designed by ISG, and the containers are loaded using a front loader. Once loaded, the lid is reattached using ISG’s “lid lifter” and the containers are ready for ground transportation to the railroad.
TRAIN TO THE PORT OF MATARANI
Once the containers arrive at the railway terminal, they are transferred directly to the train. MMG has acquired special wagons to be able to transport the special 4-meter containers to the port of Matarani. Each rail car can carry 3 4-meter containers loaded with copper concentrate to the port to be unloaded.
DISCHARGE AT THE PORT
The train loaded with the specially designed containers is removed from the car using a special container turner, and using ISG’s patented “cap lifter” which is part of the container turner. The containers are emptied into a belt system and the concentrate is transferred to a special warehouse to be exported on a bulk ship. The containers are placed back in the train car and returned back to the mine to start the circuit again.