SOFTWARE: Thiess selects Wenco system for Chilean mine

[caption id="attachment_1003734123" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Open pit loading Credit: Wenco[/caption] CHILE – Wenco, a technology solutions company, is expanding its South American presence with Thiess, the world’s largest mining contractor, selecting the Wenco Mine Performance Suite to run its operations at Antofagasta’s Centinela open-pit mine in northern Chile. Antofagasta contracted Thiess to develop the Encuentro oxides pit, which is expected to contribute to the mine’s output of 50,000 tonnes of copper cathode per year. To monitor and control the production process, Thiess is leveraging the Wencomine fleet management system. This system will optimize productivity and efficiency across the pit’s 56 active units, including 12 high-precision loaders and five high-precision drill rigs. Thiess selected the Wenco product due to its reputation in delivering strong production functionality and streamlined implementation with minimal impact on day-to-day operations. Expanding the South American presence is also strategically important for Wenco with contractor-operated sites, common in the region, representing a significant growth market. “Wenco has worked with Thiess at various mining developments around the world and our solutions are ideal for the productivity improvements and ease of deployment they require. We’re looking forward to a long and profitable business together,” Jose Eugenio Saravia, Wenco’s regional manager for Latin America, said in a release. This follows recent Wenco sales to the Chinchillas and Pucamarca mines and a new partnership with Tecwise, a Brazilian mining solutions provider. “Contractors like Thiess are a major growth area for Wenco and the industry as a whole. We’re seeing a great many more opportunities of this sort throughout Latin America,” Saravia adds. “As well, we’re seeing more and more customers excited to partner with a Hitachi-owned company like Wenco, who can deliver the reliability and support only available from a major OEM and global mining leader.” For over 30 years, Wenco has developed technology solutions to help mining companies increase productivity. Wenco offers a suite of mine productivity solutions including fleet management, asset health, proximity detection, mining business analytics and high precision machine guidance solutions. For more information, visit www.WencoMine.com.