Doing it RIGHT

The ministry is working round the clock to increase the mining sector’s contribution to GDP and ensure the companies operating in the sector are sensitive to the environment.

What recent investments has Çayeli Bakır made to improve the production and safety of its mine?

In the last few years, we have invested in the safety of our shaft hoisting system. It is an underground mine and the hoisting system corresponds to 50% of our production; therefore, the shaft is a critical element of the mining process. The mine has been in production for 25 years, so the system requires constant maintenance. This has been the focus of our investments. We have started using new safety systems to keep in line with the latest technology, such as new communication systems. We have also invested in equipment, as some of our equipment is 15 years old. of engineers from the mine, maintenance, mill, and finance departments. They meet every month to look for opportunities to reduce consumption. Underground, ventilation is our main energy consumption, while on the surface, it is the milling side. At present, we are processing increasing amounts of low-grade material, which consists of clay, and when the clay comes into contact with water, it becomes hard to crush. We are working hard to improve the crushing equipment so that we can feed the running circuit as much as possible so that the energy consumed per ton falls. We have also engaged in campaigns outside of the production process to reduce energy consumption. We have replaced roofs with transparent roof covers to use sunlight instead of artificial light. Similarly, we have installed higher efficiency bulbs ones to further reduce our energy consumption.