Success at Great Heights

High altitude doesn’t deter TracStar® 1200i’s work on tailings dam

Antamina Mine, located in central Peru, is a top Peruvian producer of copper and zinc concentrates. The mine opened in 1998 and produces hundreds of tons of copper concentrate each year, with capital expenditures exceeding $2 billion USD as of 2013. It’s a high-elevation site, with an average elevation of 4,300m, or approximately 14,000 feet above sea level.

To store byproducts of the mine’s operations, a tailings dam was first erected in the early 2000s about 55km (34 miles) east of Huaraz, Peru. Despite being in use since 2001, this 1,050m (3,345 feet) long dam remains under construction. The  plans are to continually raise its height until it reaches 240m (787 feet) tall.  When complete the total elevation will be  4,125m (2.56 miles) and a length of 1.3km (0.8 miles).

This latest phase of construction – the fourth in the dam’s history – involves roughly 18km (11.2 mile) of high-density polyethylene, including 6km (3.7 miles) of 48-inch DR 21 pipe.

When it came to installation methods, Antamina Mining Company, the owners of this project, realized the many benefits of HDPE, including its longevity, its reliability, and its efficient installation methods. Fused HDPE is unique due to its ability to withstand some of the most extreme conditions. In this situation, Antamina Mining Company realized that the combination of environmental stress and high altitude made HDPE the clear choice for piping material.

To begin, Antamina Mining chose STRACON South America for the main contracting on the job, and STRACON then turned to MyR Serviplast for their fusion expertise.

For this project, MyR Serviplast utilized a TracStar® 1200i that waswas more than ready for the challenge. Despite the extreme conditions – the iSeries was fusing at an altitude of more than 4,300m (14,000 feet) – the TracStar® 1200i exceeded expectations.

For diesel engines operating at extreme altitudes, power loss is unavoidable. But from the start, high altitude operation was taken into account during the TracStar 1200i’s design.

Some diesel engines typically have a reduction in power when operating at high altitude. These can range anywhere from two to three percent for every 1,000 feet above sea level. And considering Antamina Mine’s altitude of more than 15,000 feet, that would normally equate to a reduction between 30 and 45 percent of its overall power.

However, the engine in the TracStar 1200i was designed to perform exceptionally well at altitude, cutting those power reductions by more than one-third.

But the machine’s purposeful design was taken a step further.

“The TracStar 1200i was also designed to use hydraulic and electric power efficiently by the components and control system throughout the unit,” said McElroy Vice President of Product Development Geoff Koch. “Because less power is wasted through inefficiencies, it requires less overall power from the engine, ensuring that enough power is available for all operations.”

And the results spoke for themselves: the TracStar 1200i ran smoothly during the entire operation and was able to complete up to six fusions a day.

To maintain the highest level of quality control, Antamina Mine requires operators to have McElroy certification to operate fusion equipment on-site. Training is conducted by McElroy channel partner Thiessen del Peru.

MyR Serviplast took their quality assurance a step further by recording their fusion parameters using the DataLogger®, allowing them to keep records that could be reviewed in real-time via the Vault™, McElroy’s cloud-based data storage platform. At the same time, the mine’s quality department consistently conducted destructive testing with quality control technicians.

Both mine owner Antamina Mining and contractor STRACON took advantage of this, checking joints to ensure they were ready to perform.

“Implementing the use of the DataLogger and Vault platforms was highly valued by the mine, as they provided proof that every joint was properly fused, ensuring traceability and real-time monitoring directly from the job site,” said Santiago Molleapaza, owner and general manager of MyR Serviplast.

Those records later went on to Antamina Mine’s quality staff for approval. Antamina Mine and STRACON have their own Vault account, allowing MyR Serviplast to send the mining company its data.

“Antamina highly values the DataLogger and the Vault,” Molleapaza said. “It allows them to maintain a high level of quality control over the work taking place at the tailings dam.”

And there’s still plenty of work to do. Construction on the dam is expected to stretch through until the end of 2025.

“For upcoming projects, the productivity, efficiency, and safety standards achieved by the TracStar iSeries make a strong case for swiftly replacing conventional traditional hydraulic rolling machines with these new automated models across all available ranges, no matter how high or rugged the work site may be,” Molleapaza added.

The TracStar 1200i is just one of the rugged and reliable machines that make up McElroy’s equipment lineup. Whether fusing underground or thousands of feet above sea level, McElroy machines are the world’s number-one choice thanks to their combination of industry-leading technology and expert design.

Ready to learn more about pipe fusion and the TracStar® iSeries? Visit www.mcelroy.com to get started.