From a pioneering team to a global platform of solutions for more efficient, reliable, and intelligent mining
15 years ago, ME Elecmetal made a decision that would mark a new chapter in its history: incorporating digital capabilities to better understand the behavior of mining assets and processes, and transforming that information into concrete solutions for its clients.
What began as a small team, primarily focused on the application of laser scanning technologies, has evolved into a multidisciplinary organization of nearly 100 people, combining mining knowledge, engineering, metallurgy, data analytics, automation, and operational experience.
During this period, ME Elecmetal Digital has evolved from asset monitoring to developing solutions capable of generating strategic information, facilitating data-driven decisions, and contributing to the optimization of critical processes.
This journey represents more than a technological transformation. It reflects the evolution of ME Elecmetal from a company recognized for its metallurgical expertise and production capabilities to a global enterprise focused on deeply understanding mining challenges and developing comprehensive solutions to address them.
“In 15 years, we have learned a lot, we have grown, and today we understand the innovation ecosystem and the pillars that can support our growth much better.”
Ariel Medina, Manager of ME Elecmetal Digital.
A story that began by listening to mining
The development of ME Elecmetal's Digital Solutions has been closely linked to the real needs of mining operations.
From its earliest initiatives, the team worked directly with clients, plants, and specialists to understand how equipment operated, what variables affected their performance, and what information could help improve their availability, reliability, and productivity.
One of the first steps was incorporating laser scanning to assess the wear of mill liners. That capability, initially developed by a team of three or four people, grew to a scale unimaginable in its early years.
Currently, ME Elecmetal possesses extensive experience in mill laser scanning and a significant database of wear records. This information not only allows tracking the condition of the liners but also contributes to the design, engineering, and continuous improvement of the products and services delivered to clients.
The value of this journey is not only found in the number of measurements taken. It lies in the accumulated knowledge from thousands of interactions with assets, processes, and mining operations under real conditions.
This experience demonstrates that digitalization generates greater value when built upon a deep understanding of mining.
From observing processes to actively contributing to their optimization
Over these 15 years, ME Elecmetal Digital has learned that digital tools are not an end in themselves. Their true potential emerges when they enable better understanding of the operation and acting upon it.
For this reason, the value proposition of the area has progressively expanded.
The challenge no longer consists solely of measuring the wear of a component or monitoring a variable. The aspiration is to comprehensively understand critical processes: know the mineralogical characteristics of the material, understand the composition of the inventories feeding the mills, identify changes in operational conditions, and monitor the behavior of key assets.
“Digital tools offer many opportunities to better understand the business. Our value proposition is about developing solutions that allow monitoring supercritical processes, knowing the condition of the mineral, and monitoring critical assets to provide greater availability to the processes.”
Ariel Medina, Manager of ME Elecmetal Digital.
By combining these sources of information, it is possible to move from a descriptive logic —showing what is happening— to a predictive and prescriptive logic, capable of anticipating scenarios, supporting the interpretation of operational changes, and facilitating decisions.
This evolution also involves greater integration with the expert control systems operating the plants. In this way, the variables generated by ME Elecmetal's solutions can be transformed into useful information for the systems that manage and optimize certain processes.
The ambition is to contribute to the development of mining process intelligence that connects data, operational knowledge, and decisions.
Digital solutions as part of a comprehensive proposal
For ME Elecmetal, digital development is not separate from its products, services, and engineering. It is part of a comprehensive proposal aimed at solving clients' specific problems.
Digital Solutions complement the company's accumulated experience in mining products and processes, incorporating new tools to observe, understand, and improve the operation.
This combination represents a significant advantage. Clients know the quality and reliability of the products that ME Elecmetal has developed over decades and expect its technological services to meet the same standard.
“Digital solutions strengthen our comprehensive ability to solve clients' problems. They allow us to address challenges more easily, make data-driven decisions, and respond with technological services that meet the standard they already recognize in our products.”
Iván Flores, Commercial Manager South America of ME Elecmetal.
The incorporation of new digital capabilities has been positively received by clients. In various operations, they themselves have expressed the need for ME Elecmetal to participate in new technological challenges, recognizing the value of having a partner that combines mining knowledge, industrial experience, and innovation capacity.
Digital Solutions also serve a multiplying function. By generating more and better data on asset performance, they help refine designs, strengthen engineering, and develop products increasingly tailored to the specific conditions of each operation.
In this way, the physical and digital realms feed off each other.
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Introducing new technology into mining requires a deep understanding of each operation, its risks, and its needs. Our experience and close collaboration with customers enable us to understand those challenges and work alongside them to identify, adapt, and implement solutions that deliver real value.
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Knowledge and people as the main asset
The growth of ME Elecmetal Digital cannot be explained solely by the incorporation of technologies, sensors, equipment, or platforms.
Its development is supported by a multidisciplinary team that brings together metallurgists, mechanical engineers, professionals from various specialties, data scientists, analysts, developers, and technical draftsmen, among other profiles.
This diversity allows challenges to be analyzed from complementary perspectives. While some members deeply understand mineral processing, others develop models, analyze information, design components, implement technologies, or directly support clients in their operations.
Machines, sensors, and platforms are fundamental, but their implementation, maintenance, and evolution depend on people capable of understanding both the technology and the mining context in which it will be used.
In this environment, learning is part of the daily work. Each project, implementation, and conversation with a client represents an opportunity to understand a new problem, improve an existing solution, or develop a new capability.
Technology that connects specialists with operations
Digital tools also allow overcoming some of the inherent difficulties of the mining industry.
Access to the field can be limited by geographical, operational, or safety factors. Permanently deploying large teams of specialists in each operation is not always possible.
Remote monitoring capabilities allow processes and assets to be supported from other locations, review system performance, and provide specialized support without relying solely on physical presence.
This does not eliminate fieldwork. On the contrary, it allows for more strategic use of it.
The first implementations, configurations, and validations still require close knowledge of the operation. However, once deployed, the solutions can generate continuity and scalability through remote monitoring and automation.
Thus, technology becomes a bridge connecting the knowledge of specialists with the needs of mining operations.
A new stage of global growth
After 15 years of development, ME Elecmetal Digital is preparing for a new stage.
The experience initially built in Chile and South America is beginning to be deployed in other regions. The company plans to extend its digital capabilities to markets and operations in North America, Peru, Brazil, China, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and other territories where ME Elecmetal maintains a presence or relationships with clients.
Global expansion will allow accompanying more clients, responding to diverse operational contexts, and enriching solutions through the learning obtained in different geographies.
“We are looking for technologies in different parts of the world that we can apply to our clients' operations. It is a gigantic leap, and we are excited about this challenge.”
Iván Flores, Commercial Manager South America of ME Elecmetal.
Each region presents different minerals, processes, operational cultures, and challenges. Working in these contexts will allow identifying new problems and developing solutions applicable in multiple markets.
The globalization of the area is not simply about replicating what already exists. It involves building implementation, support, and knowledge capabilities that can respond appropriately in each region.
It also represents new opportunities for people development through international projects, team collaboration, mobility, and experiences in different operations and countries.
ME Elecmetal as an innovation enabler
The mining technology ecosystem is composed of universities, startups, specialized suppliers, research centers, and companies with innovative solutions.
Many of these organizations have high-potential technologies but face difficulties entering mining operations, validating their developments, or scaling their applications.
Mining operates under demanding conditions. The risks associated with safety, operational continuity, and productivity mean that incorporating new solutions requires trust, experience, and implementation capability.
In this context, ME Elecmetal can contribute by connecting technologies with real client needs.
“Incorporating a new technology in mining requires a deep understanding of the operation, its risks, and its needs. Our experience and closeness with clients allow us to listen to these challenges and work with them to identify, adapt, and implement solutions that generate real value.”
Eugenio Arteaga, CEO of ME Elecmetal.
The goal is not to internally develop all technologies. It is also to identify partners with good solutions and jointly build proposals capable of responding to specific mining challenges.
ME Elecmetal brings process knowledge, client proximity, implementation capability, and the experience necessary to adapt an innovation to the demands of a real mining operation.
This articulation allows accelerating learning, reducing entry barriers, and expanding the reach of new technologies.
Innovating also means learning
Innovation involves exploring spaces where not all answers are available from the start.
Many of the solutions currently part of ME Elecmetal Digital's offering arose from conversations with clients, field observations, team questions, or problems that did not yet have an adequate answer.
The process has required research, experimentation, pilot development, hypothesis validation, and continuous learning from the results.
Experimentation spaces like the innovation Sandbox aim to facilitate this process, allowing new ideas to be tested in a controlled environment before moving towards scaling.
Innovating does not mean moving forward without direction. It means combining openness to explore with discipline to evaluate: understanding what worked, what needs improvement, and what the next step should be.
This approach allows for responsible risk management and transforms each experience into better decisions and more robust solutions.
A contribution that transcends the company
The development of digital capabilities for mining generates value for clients and ME Elecmetal, but it also produces a broader impact.
Mining is often analyzed primarily by the minerals it extracts and exports. However, a fundamental part of its contribution lies in the ecosystem of suppliers, professionals, and technological capabilities that develop around it.
“The best contribution of mining is its suppliers and the development of activities like these. Everything we do for mining adds value to ME Elecmetal, the country, and the development of people.”
José Pablo Domínguez, General Manager South America of ME Elecmetal.
The formation of specialized teams in digital mining opens up job opportunities for new generations of engineers, data scientists, metallurgists, and professionals from various disciplines.
It also allows for the development of local knowledge that can be projected internationally and contribute from Chile, Peru, and other countries to solving mining challenges in different parts of the world.
“We have the opportunity to build comprehensive solutions that add value to mining processes, enable the development of people, and contribute to the development of all the countries where we operate.”
José Pablo Domínguez, General Manager South America of ME Elecmetal.
In this way, Digital Solutions help strengthen a more sophisticated supplier industry, capable of generating technology, knowledge, and innovation with global reach.
“The best contribution of mining is its suppliers and the development of activities like these. Everything we do for mining adds value to ME Elecmetal, the country, and the development of people. We have the opportunity to build comprehensive solutions that add value to mining processes, enable the development of people, and contribute to the development of all the countries where we operate.”
The next 15 years
Celebrating 15 years is an opportunity to recognize what has been built, but also to renew ambition.
ME Elecmetal Digital has evolved from an initiative developed by a small group of people to become a strategic capability for the company.
Today it has a larger team, significant field experience, a growing database and knowledge, relationships with clients and technology partners, and a vision for international expansion.
However, the task is far from complete.
Mining will continue to face challenges related to productivity, asset availability, mineralogical variability, safety, sustainability, and operational efficiency. At the same time, artificial intelligence, automation, and advanced analytics will open new possibilities for understanding and managing processes.
In this scenario, ME Elecmetal seeks to continue developing solutions that connect its historical mining knowledge with future technologies.
“We want to play an important role as partners of our clients and develop a relevant digital business for mining.”
Ariel Medina, Manager of ME Elecmetal Digital.
The challenge is to continue listening to clients, understanding their processes, exploring new technologies, and transforming accumulated knowledge into solutions that generate concrete results.
Because the solutions of the future will likely arise, just like the current ones, from a conversation, a field observation, or a question posed in front of an unresolved challenge.
After 15 years, ME Elecmetal Digital begins a new stage: more global, more integrated, and with the same conviction that gave rise to this journey.
Continue transforming data into knowledge, knowledge into decisions, and decisions into better results for mining.
15 years of history. A new stage of global growth. And many solutions to build.
