El Teniente Copper Mine Expansion

Fluor provided design, procurement and construction for an expansion of El Teniente, an existing underground copper mine and ore haulage complex high in the Chilean Andes that was the world’s largest such complex at the time.

The project increased ore production from 35,000 to 62,500 tons per day by expanding transfer and haulage facilities in the north and central areas of the mine and opening new ore blocks in the southern portion of the vast deposit.

Our scope of work required the construction of 30 miles of new underground labyrinth. Thirteen miles of tunnels, drifts, cross-cuts and connections were driven horizontally, and 11 miles of finger raises, ore passes, shafts and inclines were raised and sunk vertically. We also constructed the six-mile-long Teniente 8 railway tunnel. Nearly 850,000 cubic yards of rock were excavated.

We engineered and constructed two large-bore “elevator” shafts and installed hoisting equipment in a third. The Sewell Shaft transported workers and material from the Teniente 8 railroad tunnel. It was estimated that approximately 100 million tons of ore, 100 tons of freight and 900,000 passenger round trips were carried by the Teniente railroad annually.