MAINTENANCE
The vehicles have to overcome extreme
Efficient engine
maintenance
Like most of the world’s open-pit mines, Chuquicamata and
Radomiro Tomic run the trucks 24/7. To keep breakdowns to
a minimum, the mine operator Codelco Norte relies on MTU
engines and the maintenance team that keeps them in
perfect running order
E
quipped with 2,720-kW, 20-cylinder MTU
Series 4000 engines, a fleet of 600-t
(loaded) trucks ply their trade in Chile's
Chuquicamata and Radomiro Tomic copper
mines. The vehicles are exposed to dust and
heat on a daily basis. Coupled with the thin air
at more than 3,000 m above sea level, the
extreme environment demands everything of
the people and plant employed in the mines.
"Here in Chuquicamata work goes on around
the clock, seven days a week," recounts
Ricardo Henoch, General Manager of Detroit
Diesel Chile, the local MTU distributor. The
continuous duty and high levels of power
utilisation demand special care in the
maintenance of the engines. Every hour that a
truck stands idle, the mine operator is faced
with a five-figure loss. To avoid the possibility
of extended unplanned downtime the
operator, Codelco Norte, has opted for the
safe option in the shape of a full maintenance
contract. It guarantees high availability of the
MTU engines that drive the mining trucks.
Codelco Norte first started using MTU
engines in April 2003 and had them regularly
checked by Detroit Diesel Chile from the
outset. Today, the team looks after 30 engines
at Chuquicamata and 16 in the Radomiro
Tomic mine. There, the MTU Series 4000
diesels power a fleet of Liebherr T-282 B dump
trucks, the biggest models made by Liebherr.
Daily inspections and service checks with the
operators keep everyone involved up to date
with the condition of the equipment. Five
mechanics and two or three engineers on each
of the three shifts that make up the working
day ensure that the MTU power units remain
reliable at all times. Only in that way can the
terms of the maintenance contract be met
under the harsh environmental conditions that
prevail. Even though the temperature rarely
rises above 30°C, the region is one of the
driest in the world. As well, the swirling dust
that forms a layer on everything around and,
the deployment altitude of as much as 3,200
m puts the engines to the test on a daily basis.
changes in altitude in sparse air when carrying
ore from the mine to the crusher. This is no
easy task – especially when a mine has such
expansive dimensions as Chuquicamata, which
measures 4.5 km long, 3.5 km across and
almost 1 km deep.
Maintenance training
The maintenance technicians carry out major,
complex repairs at a workshop in the Chilean
capital Santiago de Chile about 1,000 km
distant from the mines. Including the onsite
staff, the entire maintenance team for the two
mines comprises almost 50 people. The range
of possible jobs extends from the relatively
simple to the extremely complicated.
Depending on which tasks are required at a
particular time and how extensive they are,
MTU trains the necessary onsite staff so that
they can be deployed accordingly. In addition,
there are development courses at the relevant
MTU training centres worldwide. The skill
levels of mechanics and engineers can thus be
optimised to suit local requirements. As a
result, the team is able to complete the
maintenance work as cost-efficiently as
possible regardless of whether it is a case of
simply monitoring the engines or totally
dismantling them.
The MTU maintenance concept provides for
a wide range of preventive and corrective
measures designed to keep the engines at a
high level of performance for a long period.
Those measures are subdivided into various
qualification levels (QLs) according to the
complexity of the work involved. All tasks
required from straightforward servicing work
(QL 1) to complete overhauls (QL 4) are
covered by the qualification levels. Preventive
measures (QL 1, 3 and 4) form the core of the
maintenance concept. Preventive maintenance
simplifies the forward planning of servicing
work and ensures that engines and accessories
are available precisely when they are needed.
In order to complete scheduled services as
quickly as possible, MTU keeps stocks of
exchange and replacement parts at Detroit
Diesel Chile's distribution depot. That also
includes parts for corrective maintenance –
known as QL2 measures – from the smallest
screws through to entire engines. The QL2
measures include all work performed in order
to rectify operational faults or malfunctions,
such as replacing individual components or
even a complete engine overhaul. Codelco
Norte’s monthly work is at a fixed rate based
on the hours of duty. The full maintenance
contract for the Chuquicamata and Radomiro
Tomic MTU engines covers both preventive and
AUGUST 2010 International Mining 61
 MAINTENANCE

MTU Type 20V 4000 C22 engines with an output of

2,720 kW power the world's biggest truck. Regular
inspections guarantee high availability of the engines

cylinder heads after 10,000 hours. Because of

corrective maintenance work and so enables
high levels of engine availability. All servicing
work is quickly and efficiently completed. If an
engine has to be completely dismantled due to
an unexpected fault, the maintenance team
can fit a replacement unit in the truck within
two shifts (24 hours), thereby limiting
downtime to a minimum. For the mine
operator, Codelco Norte, the all-round
maintenance service not only means less risk
but also long-term planning certainty.
Bespoke servicing
MTU produces an individual maintenance
schedule based on the duty profiles of the
machines. It defines precisely what work is due
when. For example the air filter has to be
replaced after 1,000 hours of duty and the
its many years of practical experience of
everyday operation, MTU has access to average
figures that can be referred to as a guide. Time
intervals between the individual inspections
and servicing operations can thus be defined
relatively accurately. If the engines are operated
under difficult conditions or subjected to special
technical demands, the mechanics also carry
out additional maintenance operations and
adjust the servicing intervals accordingly. Spare
parts are managed by the on-site maintenance
team, who order them directly from MTU
according to the maintenance schedule. At the
start of the maintenance contract, MTU provides
the distributor with a list of recommended
parts to be kept in stock to cover basic
requirements. For the Chuquicamata and
Radomiro Tomic mines there is a central parts
depot in Santiago de Chile that maintains stocks
of preventive and corrective-maintenance parts.
That means the mechanics are fully equipped
for scheduled maintenance work and can cover
requirements for unscheduled maintenance
very quickly. If parts that are not on site or
available from the central depot are needed,
the Parts Logistics Center in Überlingen
(Germany) can provide them within a short
space of time. The parts stocks are generally
automatically replenished by a re-order system
that automatically takes account of factors
such as restocking time and usage rates. And
with the reporting of failure rates and services
provided, the mine operator is able to obtain a
comprehensive picture of the condition of the
vehicles at Chuquicamata and Radomiro Tomic
at any time and draw conclusions from it as to
their future deployment. IM

Maintenance planning for the MTU engines

Qualification Level Maintenance work Example (dependent on product-specific maintenance schedules)

QL1 Operational monitoring and maintenance Inspect pumps for leak-tightness. Check engine oil level. Fit new air
which can be carried out during breaks in filters. Fit new injectors. Inspect combustion chambers with endoscope
operation without disassembling the engine

QL2 Component exchange (corrective only) All services necessary for correction of operating faults or malfunctions

QL3 Maintenance work requiring partial disassembly Clean engine oil heat exchanger and inspect for leak-tightness,
overhaul of the engine turbochargers, overhaul cylinder heads

QL4 Maintenance work requiring complete Completely disassemble engine, inspect all components, recondition
disassembly of the engine and repair by reworking/fitting new wear parts as required

62 International Mining AUGUST 2010