The Siemens Drive Technologies Division is delivering an Integrated Drive System for two new mills for the Toromocho mine in Peru’s Yauli mine. Aluminium Corporation of China’s subsidiary, Minera Chinalco Perú S.A.
With this new technology a new production line with one SAG mill and ball mill will be created helping to mine one million tons of copper concentrate, 10,000 tons of molybdenum and four million ounces of silver oxide out of the mine. Along with this, and other planned mine expansions, Toromocho is set to become the most productive mine in Peru.
Previously, getting that amount of copper, molybdenum and silver oxide was difficult because the mine is 4,600 meters above sea level, which meant that special requirements had to be applied to the mill drive such as being able to access the mine site topography. The two gearless mill drives and water-cooled Sinamics SL150 cycloconverters meet these special Toromocho requirements. The 36-foot SAG mill of the new production line will be operated with a 13.5-megawatt drive. A further gearless mill drive with 22 megawatt output will ensure equally efficient and reliable driving of a ball mill with an inner diameter of 28 foot. Gearless drive systems are distinguished by their high efficiency and their low maintenance effort. Complex maintenance operations at an altitude of 4,600 meters can thus be avoided, which saves time and cost for the operator. The Sinamics cycloconverters are characterized by low switching losses due to their thyristor technology and also contribute to a high efficiency.