Rockwell Latin America president Alejandro Capparelli said the contract to engineer, produce, configure and assemble the four key components of Chuquicamata's underground mine control system covered its integrated operational platform, and security, supervision and control network, predictive maintenance and general administrative networks.

Codelco's transition to underground block cave mining at Chuquicamata by mid-2019 is expected to extend the life of the operation by at least 40 years.

 "We are pleased that Codelco has selected us for this epic mining project," Capparelli said.

"We are committed to helping our customers bring the connected enterprise to life. Our work together will increase mine throughput and lower operating costs. By leveraging Rockwell Automation's integrated control and information systems, connected services and deep domain expertise, Codelco will extract more value at every stage of their mining operation."

Annual production from Chuquicamata post the transition from surface to underground extraction is projected to be 320,000 tons of fine copper and 15,000 tons of molybdenum.

Milwaukee-based Rockwell Automation traded up 1.5% to US$180.96 a share Friday, capitalising the company at $22.28 billion.