Leica Geosystems announced that their Jigsaw360 Mine Management Solution was chosen by Codelco to increase site productivity and machine uptime, while lowering operational costs. The installations are set to begin in 2010 and added to Codelco’s operations as they continue to grow.

Sergio Blacutt, President Mining Systems Americas, said that,” We are very excited to be installing our fleet systems and high-precision guidance systems at Codelco. This is not just about providing a hardware and software solution, this about us partnering with Codelco, to form a long-term relationship which will help Codelco reach their operational goals and strategies.”

"If we consider that, in an open pit mine like this one, 50% of costs derive from transportation, it is imperative for us to optimize this resource if we are to remain competitive in the mining market," explains Sergio Jarpa, Corporate Vice-President of Codelco Norte. This system boasts the best technology in the world available for these tasks, "which makes life easier for our workers, giving them better tools to make decisions," adds the division's top executive.

For the Director of Extracción y Lixiviación Sur, Óscar Jiménez, "being the first in the division to use this technology across our entire fleet is a great privilege, because it enables us to use our assets optimally and to continue to show that we are a competitive producer in the mining industry. It also makes us an attractive technological provider for other projects, as we are more productive with lower costs."

“Another fundamental aspect of this technology platform is the ‘intelligence’ of the database. Previously, if a machine was out of reach of the system, it was not possible to control it. It is a distributed database, which gives each machine greater ‘intelligence’. Therefore, a truck never stops being dispatched, because it's done automatically in real time. It's impossible for a machine to be outside the system as it's always being controlled," emphasizes Díaz.