Codelco investigated the Norwegian Way of Working.

In August 2024, Codelco´s expert on tunnelling investigated the benefits of Norwegian methods and technology and the Norwegian way of working. Norwegian experts have been collaborating with projects in Chile for the last two years to see how the principles of Norwegian tunneling can be implemented in the mining industry in Chile. It was time to show, by example, how cost-effective and safe the Norwegian way of working is and how we achieve great tunnelling results in Norway.

We visited Leonhard Nilsen og Sønner (LNS) and the Andfjord Salmon project at Andøya, Rana Gruber in Mo i Rana, and E39 Rogfast in Stavanger and Bokn. In all three projects, Codelco´s experts were introduced to each operation, the challenges in the projects, and how to find the best way to achieve the best results. The Norwegian way of working is more than methods and technology; a significant part of the project's success is related to how we work together, the best way of using the resources, and ensuring we have the right competence.

From the left; Frode Nilsen (LNS), Ignacio Gonzalez Vera (Codelco-VP), Gustavo Borquez Reyes (Codelco-VP), Aida Tusha (LNS & NTN)

We also discussed common interests and how to further the collaboration between Codelco and the Norwegian Tunnelling industry.

The Norwegian tunneling industry and the HPO project have set a goal of finding partners to facilitate pilot projects to show that the Norwegian tunneling industry can deliver good results in Chile, as we do in Norway. Our industry partners are already involved in advisory and engineering assignments to prepare future projects for a Norwegian approach to mine development in Chile. The feedback from the Chilean industry is promising so far.

We would like to express our gratitude to our governmental partners (Team Norway), including Innovation Norway (export program owner), the Norwegian Embassy in Santiago, the Chilean Embassy in Oslo, the Public Road Administration, the Ministry of Transport, LNS, Skanska, Rana Gruber, and NTN members, for their assistance and essential work so far in the project. We will also thank our partners in Chile, including Codelco and the Vice Presidency of Projects.