Mantos Blancos Operations

Overview

Mantos Blancos is an open pit mine located 45 km northeast of Antofagasta, in northern Chile, at an altitude of 920 meters above sea level. This operation processes 5.5 Mt/year of copper sulphide ore and classifies the tailings with hydrocyclones into coarse tailings and fine tailings. The coarse tailings undergo a filtering and draining process reaching a solids concentration by weight close to 80% and are then transported by truck to the coarse tailings deposit. On the other hand, the fine tailings obtained from the hydrocyclone overflow are taken to three thickeners reaching a solids concentration by weight greater than 50% and are then transported to a pumping station and deposited in Pit Phase 8.

Mantos Blancos is seeking to enhance its tailings management practices in compliance with the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM). This proactive approach demonstrates the mine’s commitment to safety, environmental responsibility, and operational excellence.

As an existing mine with previous designs, Knight Piésold conducted a comprehensive due diligence review of the tailings storage facilities (TSFs) to determine construction deviations from the design, make design modifications, and support Mantos Blancos in identifying requirements to implement the GISTM. As a result of this phase, Knight Piésold expressed its commitment to guide the client in addressing the findings identified during the due diligence phase in order to take on the role of Engineer of Record (EoR) in the future for the mine’s four TSFs in 2023, including the two active facilities: the coarse tailings deposit and the Pit Phase 8. Currently, Knight Piésold's role has been designated as conditional EoR.

The Challenge

Through the due diligence phase, Knight Piésold identified areas for operational improvement and GISTM compliance, expressing the possibility of assuming a conditional EoR role and guiding the client in the process of aligning operational practices with world-class standards. This has involved modifying the design, changing the organizational culture, supporting change management, making investments for operational improvements and managing deadlines to achieve objectives.

Our Approach

Currently, engineering strategies and solutions are being jointly developed to enable Mantos Blancos to achieve its objectives. Collaborative efforts are focused on cultural transformation and the implementation of industry best practices.

The Results

Progress has been made in initiating cultural change, as demonstrated by Mantos Blancos’ willingness to conduct field data collection programs and incorporate Quality Assurance personnel for monitoring TSF construction, in close relationship with the conditional EoR.

This collaboration between Mantos Blancos and Knight Piésold not only demonstrates an improvement in safety and efficiency but also positions the mine for long-term success.