MALMO, Sweden, July 8, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Benima, part of the Teleca Group, in partnership with Sandvik Tamrock, has won an order for an operating system for driverless loaders in Codelco's El Teniente copper mine in Chile.
Codelco aims to make El Teniente the world's most efficient underground mine. To achieve this the company is now carrying through several supervision and automation projects. In addition to the gains in efficiency the safety of the miners and the working environment will also be improved. One important aspect of the work will be the introduction of driverless loaders supervised by an operator in a control room above ground.
The solution is based on AutoMine(TM), a complete concept for handling driverless loaders and trucks in underground mines. Within the concept framework Benima has developed a mission control system: an advanced computerised system to control traffic and production, as well as the handling of geographical and mechanical equipment data, operator stations and connections to other parts of the mine's IT system.
"There's a great deal of interest throughout the world in our concept for driverless loaders and trucks," says Timo Soikkelli at Sandvik Tamrock. "Our collaboration with Benima on AutoMine has been very positive, and this order is a breakthrough in underground mine technology. Apart from the efficiency gains achieved by AutoMine we'll also be greatly improving the operators' working environment."
"From Benima's point of view we're very excited to work with Sandvik Tamrock, which is a leading global supplier of mining equipment," says Gunnar Meller, chief executive of Benima Mellan AB. "This collaboration gives us an excellent opportunity to reach an international market with our offerings."
For more information please contact: - Christer Ohbom, Benima Mellan AB, telephone +46-705 287 722 - Timo Soikkeli, Sandvik Tamrock, telephone +358-405 000 860
Teleca is an international consulting company developing and applying advanced technology. The company's business concept is to strengthen the customers' market position and time to market. Teleca builds and integrates solutions for technology and software intensive customers worldwide. Core values are honesty, reliability and hard work. The company has more than 2,500 employees with operations in 15 countries in Asia, Europe and USA. Teleca is quoted on the Attract40 list of Stockholmsborsen (Stockholm stock exchange). www.teleca.com
Sandvik Mining and Construction is a business area within the Sandvik Group and a world-leading manufacturer of drilling and excavation machinery, tools and service for the mining and construction industries. Annual sales amount to slightly more than SEK 14,800 M, with about 8,000 employees. www.smc.sandvik.com
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