504 DMLZ Crusher Officially Begins Operation: Underground Mine Production Enters New Chapt
05 October 2020
Along with navigating global pandemic effects, PTFI’s work on developing the world’s largest underground mine continues.
Three haul trucks dumped ore directly into the 504 DMLZ crusher for the first time on October 3, 2020, marking a new production phase of the gradual ramp up at PT Freeport Indonesia's Deep Mill Level Zone mine. What made it even more exciting, was the company completed the project amid a pandemic that required employees to make many adjustments to their daily work.
“We’re very proud to be here today. The DMLZ mine has been ramping up on schedule. The completion of the 504 crusher is another great achievement for us. We completed it ahead of schedule, and we were able to maintain the budget,” said Mark Johnson, Executive Vice President-Chief Operating Officer PTFI. “One other important thing to note is the fact that we did it not only safely, but also in a challenging and demanding environment amid a global pandemic.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant changes in various aspects of life throughout the world, including at PTFI. Despite the ongoing pandemic that required considerable changes, such as creating an essential crew to maintain physical distancing requirements, dealing with supply issues and technical challenges—the PTFI team once again delivered exceptional work.
Hard Work Pays Off
Underground mining presents a unique set of challenges, so careful planning pays off, said Zulkifli Lambali, Executive Vice President-Site Operations and PTFI Technical Mine Manager who studied the decision to take primary crushers underground.
“To build a new crusher inside an underground mine was complicated work. It required thorough planning and involved some challenging excavation and intricate assembly work. Thankfully, we did it all with such great teamwork and perseverance,” Lambali said. “With The 504 DMLZ crusher added, we anticipate ramping up production to more than 200,000 tons/day for the next two years.”
A crusher with a custom layout becomes an efficient solution when throughput reaches thousands of tons per hour.
“With the 504 DMLZ crusher construction that was completed three months ahead of schedule, we saved $3 million in the budget,” said Akhmad Ulya Hidayat, Vice President Central Services. “With this new crusher added, now DMLZ has two crushers, each with capacity around 2,500 to 3,000 tons per hour.”
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