Keeping the world's leading mines running: Komatsu Reman in Chile

2026.8.31

Innovation

Keeping the world's leading mines running: Komatsu Reman in Chile

At large-scale mining operations around the world, construction and mining equipment operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Because even a brief equipment stoppage can have a significant impact on production, ensuring a reliable supply of high-quality parts at the right time and optimizing total cost of ownership (TCO) throughout a machine's lifecycle have become critical priorities.

How Komatsu Reman creates value through remanufacturing

Helping meet these needs is Komatsu Reman, Komatsu's remanufacturing business and a key part of its circular business initiatives. Through Komatsu Reman, major components such as engines are recovered from construction and mining equipment after long periods of operation, then cleaned, disassembled, repaired and restored to like-new quality before being returned to customers. By reducing environmental impact while optimizing lifecycle costs, remanufactured components are helping support mining and construction operations around the world.

A global business supporting mines around the world

More than 90% of Komatsu's revenue is generated outside Japan, where the company is headquartered. The remanufacturing business is even more global, with more than 95% of its operations serving markets outside Japan. In this article, we focus on Chile — one of the world's leading mining nations — to explore how Komatsu Reman supports reliable mine operations and sustainable business through the voices of employees and customers. *Components are functional parts, such as engines, that perform independent roles within a machine.

For more information about the Komatsu Reman process, please see our previous article.

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Komatsu Reman in Chile, one of the world's leading mining nations

At Chile's large-scale mines, it is not uncommon for mining equipment to operate for more than 100,000 hours over a service life exceeding 20 years, with annual operating hours of approximately 6,000 hours. During that time, motors, engines and other major components are replaced multiple times, making lifecycle cost management a key challenge.

Mining operations run continuously, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, meaning equipment downtime can have a significant impact on production. As a result, customers require high-quality components, competitive pricing and reliable delivery exactly when they are needed.

Integrated support for reliable mine operations

Komatsu Reman plays a vital role in meeting these needs. In addition to providing high-quality, cost-effective remanufactured components, Komatsu works closely with customers to monitor equipment condition and develop maintenance plans that ensure replacement components are available when needed, helping maximize uptime.

Komatsu also provides integrated support throughout the entire equipment lifecycle — from machine delivery and operation to maintenance, parts supply and remanufacturing — helping customers reduce lifecycle costs while maintaining high machine availability.

Komatsu Chile employees supporting mine sites in Chile

Reliable mine operations depend not only on advanced technology but also on close collaboration across teams and the expertise of dedicated professionals. We spoke with employees supporting Komatsu Reman in Chile about what they focus on in their daily work and what they find most rewarding.

Komatsu Reman plant in La Negra, Antofagasta, Chile

Cristóbal Espinosa Jensen

Central Planning within the General Management of Mining Operations

"My biggest mission is to ensure that our customers' operations in Chile never come to a halt. As demand for TCO optimization continues to grow, we carefully manage inventories of parts and major components across the country while responding quickly to unexpected issues.

"Our remanufacturing plant is one of our greatest strengths. By strengthening collaboration among our maintenance planning, field service and remanufacturing teams, we help optimize TCO while minimizing equipment downtime. It is incredibly rewarding to know that our work helps customers solve operational challenges and supports the long-term success of their businesses."

*Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): The total cost incurred throughout the lifecycle of a machine, including acquisition, operation, maintenance and disposal.

Ignacio Lafuente Avendaño

Senior Reman Development Engineer

"My role is to develop remanufacturing technologies for components that have experienced long-term wear. By introducing new technologies while maintaining strict safety standards and continuously improving our processes, we are able to respond to evolving customer needs.

"What I find most rewarding is seeing the improvements we make become standardized and serve as the foundation for future work. Collaborating with colleagues to solve technical challenges and seeing those efforts through to completion continues to be one of the greatest motivations in my career."

Pedro Silva Costa

Remanufacturing Plant in Santiago

"I lead the teams responsible for remanufacturing and manufacturing electrical components and metal parts at our remanufacturing plant in Santiago. While improving efficiency and managing costs are important, employee safety always comes first.

"I also value open communication and a mindset of continuous learning. By encouraging dialogue and empowering team members to contribute ideas, we create meaningful improvements on the shop floor that ultimately deliver greater value to our customers. Seeing those improvements take shape is what I find most rewarding."

The value customers experience

Pablo Gálvez
Maintenance Manager
Minera Centinela (AMSA)

At Minera Centinela, multiple mining areas are operating simultaneously while a major expansion project is underway. As the fleet grows to approximately 260 machines, maintaining productivity has become one of the site's greatest challenges.

Pablo Gálvez explains how Komatsu is helping address these challenges.

"Komatsu's support has been invaluable throughout this project. In addition to technical support for our Autonomous Haulage System (AHS), a comprehensive support contract covering maintenance, parts supply and condition monitoring, together with close collaboration at the mine site, has helped ensure stable machine operation while enabling rapid responses to operational challenges."

Pablo also highlights the value of the partnership.

"We chose Komatsu not only because of the reliability of its equipment, but also because of the close relationship we have with the manufacturer. That direct connection allows us to respond quickly to complex technical and logistics challenges. Our open and collaborative partnership helps maximize equipment performance and supports stable mining operations."

Supporting sustainable business through Komatsu Reman

By extending the service life of equipment while reducing environmental impact and optimizing lifecycle costs, Komatsu Reman helps customers build more sustainable operations.

Working closely across its global network, Komatsu provides integrated support ranging from parts supply to optimized maintenance planning. By staying close to customers and responding to their evolving needs, Komatsu will continue supporting reliable operations and sustainable growth as a trusted long-term partner.

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