Mr.

Francisco Chueco
JACOBS Chile
Apoquindo 5400, Las Condes
Santiago (Chile)
Phone: + 56 22 924 6239
E-mail: Francisco.Chueco@jacobs.com

Dear Editor:
I would like to submit you the following manuscript entitled Technical and Economic Evaluation
of Fluorescent and LED Luminaires in Underground Mining. A case study: New Mine Level of El
Teniente; it is attached this original work for your kindly consideration to be published in IEEE
Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics, Special Issue on LED Drivers, 2015.
Authors believe that this work is an original contribution to the state of the art within the
industrial applications of lighting technologies.
A case study for New Mine Level of El Teniente Codelco in Chile, the biggest underground
copper mine in the world, is analyzed where a large amount of luminaires is used to illuminate the
mine. The objective of the study is to evaluate the technical feasibility and cost-effectiveness for
lighting large underground mines.
This paper examines and compares results of the technical and economic evaluation of using
fluorescent and LED luminaires for a real mine. The study is approached in an impartially way for
six luminaires for a real industrial application.
Major novel contributions are:
-

Establishment of technical and economic methodology to evaluate lighting technologies

for real industrial applications.
Technical comparison for underground mine conditions.
Economic comparison and sensitivity analysis for particular conditions in underground
mine and local market variables in Chile.

Look forward to your favorable consideration.

Most sincerely,
Francisco Chueco
Electrical Lead Engineer
PMP, Master Renewable Energies, Electrical Eng.
Jacobs, Mining & Minerals Americas