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Chile is affected by anti-personnel and anti-vehicle mines and to a very limited extent by abandoned or unexploded ordnance which may include cluster munition remnants. The mines were all laid on Chile`s borders with Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru during the Pinochet regime in the 1970s when Chile`s relations with its neighbors were strained. The land mine monitor reports that at the end of 2017 Chile had over 5.1 square kilometers (1,260 acres) of contaminated land, a reduction from 5.65 square kilometers (1,396 acres) from the previous year. Confirmed mined areas across five regions is believed to contain approximately 1,905 mines.
The US Humanitarian Demining Research and Development (HD R&D) Program saw the conclusion of a highly successful operational field evaluation centered around two demining vehicles in Chile. Beginning in 2007 the Multi-Tool Excavator (MTE) commenced a high priority national project to clear a dry riverbed containing deeply buried anti-vehicular and anti-personnel mines along the country’s border with Peru. The previously recorded minefield was washed out of place during a severe flood, leaving thousands of mines buried in the ground after the flood waters receded. Following an on-site assessment, the HD R&D Program integrated a set of tools optimized for this situation onto an armored commercial excavator and created a procedure for its operation. In 2013, the Mine Clearing Loader (MCL) joined the effort. The Chilean Army used these technologies to clear over 16,200 mines from 622,277 cubic meters of soil from 2007 through 2019.
Sources: To Walk the Earth in Safety, 2023
Landmine Monitor Report, 2020
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MULTI-TOOLED EXCAVATOR |
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Providing reach-in capability for safe operations with manned equipment, Multi-Tooled Excavators offer highly flexible platforms from which operators can conduct ground preparation and specialized mine clearing processes. The combination of tools for sifting, shredding, and combined function excavation and sifting, is tailored to suit local conditions and demining requirements. The attachments can be fitted to the demining organization`s own armored excavator.
Distribution Statement A: Approved for public release.
PARTNERS: The HALO Trust - Afghanistan; Mines Advisory Group - Iraq; Cambodia Mine Action Center (2007); Chilean National Demining Commission
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Multi-tool Attachments |
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The Humanitarian Demining Research and Development (HD R&D) Program has developed a wide variety of excavator and loader based tools for mechanical mine clearance. These attachments give deminers the capability to perform area preparation, technical survey and mine clearance from a safe area. Tools that have proven useful include vegetation cutters, grapples, tillers, and buckets for sifting, grinding, and crushing. The HD R&D Program has modified several small, medium and large class excavators with armor protection and the interfaces needed to use these tools in various demining environments. Operational Field Evaluations (OFE) can be performed with HD R&D Program developed excavators or loaders, or with just the tools mounted to the demining organization`s own host equipment.
Distribution Statement A: Approved for public release.
PARTNERS: Mines Advisory Group; Golden West Humanitarian Foundation; The HALO Trust
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Mine Clearing Loader |
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The Mine Clearing Loader project is evaluating commercial construction loaders with sifting and screening attachments for mine clearance and technical survey. The protected cab shields the operator from risk of unintended mine blast during clearance operations. The system also performs significant excavation and tilling tasks for mine recovery and area preparation, as well as service tasks related to transporting mine contaminated soils and loading of mine contaminated soils into secondary processing equipment. The Humanitarian Demining R&D Program is evaluating this technology for its more efficient application over excavator based reach-in tools.
Distribution Statement A: Approved for public release.
PARTNERS: Chilean National Demining Commission
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