Terminal Graneles del Norte  in Chile, South America, has ordered three Konecranes RMGs with a high level of automation. The cranes will play a special intermodal role at TGN in the city of Mejillones. These will be the first Konecranes RMGs ever delivered to South America.  This will also be a world-first in automated RMG operation with the cranes handling copper concentrate in an intermodal terminal. The cranes will be delivered by May 2023.

Alfredo Ramirez, Regional Sales Manager Americas, Konecranes Port Solutions, said: “This is one of the most interesting RMG cases I’ve ever worked on. These RMG cranes will work in a special intermodal operation serving trucks and trains arriving from one of the largest copper mines in the world. They will handle special containers that carry copper concentrate – offloading full containers from trains and trucks,and loading them with empty containers”.

Eduardo Simian, Project Manager at TGN commented: “We selected Konecranes because we were convinced by the high quality and number of their automation references, the clarity of the technical solution they proposed, and the strong local support they provide in Chile”.

Taken as a whole, this intermodal operation will be automated as an integrated system. The three Konecranes RMG cranes will be the automated workhorses of the system, with a lifting height of 15,000mm and a rail-span of 47,000mm. They will have special revolving spreaders that will be used to discharge the copper concentrate to hoppers. Container stacking, including discharging into the hoppers, will be fully automated. Lifting and landing onto trucks and train wagons will be done remotely by a human operator in a Remote Operating Station.

The cranes will be equipped with the smart features Gantry Collision Prevention, Auto-truck Guiding and Truck Lift Prevention.

A strong focus on customers and commitment to business growth and continuous improvement make Konecranes a lifting industry leader. This is underpinned by investments in digitalization and technology, plus our work to make material flows more efficient with solutions that decarbonize the economy and advance circularity and safety.