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    Codelco’s Kinamics robot at El Teniente: design and re-entry lessons for engineers

    February 25, 2026|

    Reviewed by Tom Sullivan

    First reported on International Mining – News

    30 Second Briefing

    Codelco’s El Teniente Division has deployed the Kinamics Arkytas MU-2.1 remote-controlled robot to survey new mining fronts in the Esmeralda mine, operating directly at advancing tunnel faces targeted for a zero-exposure environment. The tracked unit carries cameras and geotechnical sensors into unsupported headings to characterise rock mass conditions and verify excavation profiles before personnel entry. Early use focuses on newly blasted development drives, indicating scope to integrate robotic mapping with drill-and-blast design, ground support selection and re-entry protocols in high-risk zones.

    Technical Brief

    • Use in Esmeralda forms part of Codelco El Teniente’s “zero-exposure mine” safety drive for new developments.

    Our Take

    Across recent coverage, Codelco’s Chilean copper operations feature heavily in digital and automation stories, from the Schneider Electric MoU on digital transformation to this Kinamics deployment at El Teniente, signalling a coordinated push to modernise both fixed plants and underground fronts.

    Pairing robotic surveying at El Teniente with the long-life extension work at Ministro Hales suggests Codelco is using technology to de-risk geotechnical and operational uncertainty as it commits to multi-decade copper production horizons in Chile.

    For Kinamics, getting a safety- and product-tagged deployment inside Codelco’s flagship underground copper division positions the company well for replication across other deep, complex mines in our database, where remote front mapping is becoming a key differentiator in tendering for development work.

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    Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.

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