SKF GmbH, Schweinfurt\/Germany, has secured a three-year contract with Compa\u00f1ia Minera Antamina S.A. (Antamina), to provide Proactive Reliability Maintenance services at the company\u2019s open-pit copper mine in Peru. Antamina is jointly owned by BHP Billiton, Glencore, Teck and Mitsubishi Corporation, who have jointly invested over 3.5 bn US$ in the site, making it one of the largest mining investments in Peru\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
John Schmidt, President Industrial Sales Americas, said that for mine operators, many of which are located in remote areas, critical equipment failure could be very costly. By applying SKF\u00b4s knowledge within the fields of tribology, vibrational analysis and thermography, Antamina could reduce the risk of reoccurring failures, contributing to improve machine efficiency.<\/p>\n
SKF\u2019s Proactive Reliability Maintenance services will apply best practice predictive maintenance activities, including non-destructive testing of critical mining and plant equipment, to diagnose the root causes of failures at the Antamina mine (Figure\u00a08). Together with Antamina\u2019s own maintenance teams, SKF will then take the necessary steps to help eliminate reoccurrences by, e.\u2009g., adjusting lubrication use, shaft alignment and seals or bearing selection.<\/p>\n