The Chuquicamata underground mine in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile is one of the largest planned mining projects in the world to use the method of block caving with a macro-blocks option to mine copper ore. CODELCO is currently finishing the detail engineering stage and the construction of the main infrastructure for the project. The underground mine is expected to begin operations in 2019, with a 7-year ramp-up period and a nominal production of 140,000 tonnes per day. The rock mechanics team of SRK has been providing technical support to the project during the last 8 years, including the prefeasibility, value, feasibility, liaison and detailed engineering stages.
