Chile's Sierra Gorda deploys warehouse robot

Chilean copper miner Sierra Gorda is the first in the region to use a robot for warehouse stock management, including item picking and labeling processes. 

The robot was designed to count inventories and send data about location of each input in real time, improving operational efficiency.

Dubbed Sierra Bot, “this innovation once again positions us at the forefront of Chilean mining, as it is a pioneering technology in Latin America, designed by our team, with the aim of saving time and costs, promoting continuous improvement in our processes,” CEO Miroslaw Kidon said in a press release.

Implementation took a year and a half. Employees no longer have to physically count warehouse items and can be assigned tasks such as equipment maintenance.

Sierra Bot will take 20 minutes to carry out tasks that required 12 hours when done physically. It also helps to significantly reduce safety risks.

“This project began with the basic conception of supply processes until reaching what is robotization and implementation of technological accelerators,” IT and digital transformation manager Rodrigo Bilbao said in the release.