Veolia Peru, has won a three-year operation and maintenance contract for a 4.1 Ml/d reverse osmosis desalination plant at the Cerro Lindo multi metal mine owned by Lima-quoted exploration and mining firm, Milpo.
“Seawater desalination for process water is a rapidly expanding activity in areas of Latin America suffering from water stress,” said Veolia’s director Latin America Zone, Ramon Rebuelta. Cerro Lindo – which produces lead zinc, copper and silver – in 2007 became the first mining site in Peru to stop using river water for its operations. Its desalination plant supplies the site with industrial process water without adding to the region’s water stress.
In 2016, the output will be stepped up to 4.9 Ml/d. The seawater intake for the desalination plant is on the coast. The desalinated water is transported 40 km to the Cerro Lindo site at an altitude of 1,850 metres.