Dealer Partner Indusdor – Rubber Door Experts & Resource for the Mining Industry

The story began in 2008 with Diplas, an industrial door distributor located in Santiago, Chile, when they installed their first six rubber doors at BHP Minera Escondida. BHP Minera Escondida is a major copper mining operation, and the doors were installed by Diplas in a Truck Shop called Cerro Alto. This was BHP’s first experience with rubber doors, but they knew they wanted doors that cycled fast to keep contaminants from escaping and one that could withstand their abusive environment, which also included the reality that the doors could be hit by passing loads. Cristian Anguita, partner and operator of Diplas, introduced them to TNR rubber doors (now Hörmann). BHP, like many of the local mining companies, had the budget and the desire to install rubber doors; they wanted the best doors they could get for the application and that was the TNR brand.

The first installations were extremely successful at providing the solutions they were looking for, and based on the quality and performance, the first rubber door installations resulted in a second project in the Crusher area (where crushing equipment reduces the large rocks to smaller pieces that are more manageable to transport for further processing), in the mine area called Laguna Seca. Word of the successful installation of rubber doors at BHP Company into their brutal and demanding environment quickly spread throughout the mining community, and soon Cristian Anguita was well on his way to becoming the go-to resource for Hörmann rubber doors in Chile.

Since then, Cristian Anguita has started his own industrial door company, Indusdor, and today he is well known throughout Chile’s mining industry as the expert resource for industrial doors, especially rubber doors for mining applications. From greenfield (EPCM) ground-up construction projects where project managers can be unfamiliar with rubber doors / industrial doors, to brownfield projects where decision-makers are usually familiar with rubber doors, Cristian consults on the details of the project and recommends the rubber door model and options for the specific application.

In 2024, Chile produced an estimated 5.3 million metric tons of copper, which was about 23 percent of the world's copper production, which makes Chile the world's largest producer of copper. Without a doubt, Indusdor is in the hub of the world’s mining operations. Complex tunnels and actual towns populate these underground mines. Operations can be as deep as 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) below the surface. The copper is crushed underground near where it is extracted, crushed, and then transported via enormous conveyor systems to ground level for further processing of the ore.

Copper mining produces a fine, particulate dust that contains mostly copper oxides, but can also include other metals like lead, zinc, and arsenic depending on the ore composition.

Extracting, crushing, conveying, and processing ore produces considerable dust underground in the mine and above ground in the mills and machinery maintenance shops; this dust is considered a potential toxin and a significant environmental contaminant. Environmental and health impacts can include causing respiratory issues, water contamination if not responsibly managed, and the toxins may also carry by wind over large distances. With this list of serious environmental implications, stringent government regulations are in place designed to contain the toxins. This is where rubber doors come in.

High-speed rubber doors operate fast and completely seal the door opening when in the closed position; they are installed within the mines as well as above ground in the mills, rail and truck shops and maintenance shops, and are a major contributor to dust contaminant control. Here are three more rubber door features that explain why they are a great fit for mining environments:

• Impact-ability—Remarkably, rubber doors are impactable, so if the door is accidentally hit by a vehicle, the bottom bar releases from the guide tracks. Facility maintenance staff can simply reset the door, which eliminates a service call. Downtime is minimal since a delay in work operations occurs only as long as it takes to reset the door, which can typically be done by maintenance personnel in a few minutes.
• Tight Perimeter Seal—Keep odors and emissions from escaping. The rubber door curtain fits snuggly into the guide tracks and the bottom edge seals directly to the floor for a tight perimeter seal. Traditional rigid metal doors rely on a separate seal, which deteriorates quickly in the abrasive environment and leaves gaps. On a rubber door, the rubber curtain itself is the seal, eliminating the leakage issues seen with rigid metal door seals.
• Simple Design—By design, rubber doors have very few moving components, which reduces failure points, need for service calls, and reduces maintenance costs and operational downtime. There are no hinges, cables, drums, rollers, or sections that can trap waste and cause a mechanical failure or eventually wear out. Three rubber curtain materials are typical, and all are extremely tough and suitable for extreme industrial environments. They are: SBR (styrene-butadiene rubber), EPDM rubber (ethylene propylene diene monomer), and MSHA rubber (Mine Safety and Health Administration approved because of it is flame retardant properties).

In addition, rubber doors can withstand the typical air pressure conditions present in mining operations, which is a crucial component to maximizing dust control. It is interesting to note that the dust from underground mining, though potentially toxic, is inert as opposed to environments that produce organic dust that is volatile, so options such as explosion proof components, although available for rubber doors, are not required. The heavy-duty, extreme industrial design of the rubber door itself can accommodate the needs of the mining environment by controlling air pressure, operating fast for efficient materials handling and environmental control, and the ability to withstand being hit by heavy equipment.

Today, Indusdor is active in rubber door projects for Codelco, one of the largest copper mining operations in Chile. As of this writing, they are in the process of several project discussions where Hörmann high-speed rubber doors are under consideration. We will update this article with progress on those projects when more details are available.  In the meantime, take a few minutes to study Codelco – and Indusdor – for more details about the mining industry.

https://www.codelco.com/english

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