Spanish group Acciona has been awarded an extension to its existing contract for the Copiapó desalination plant in the Atacama III region of Chile.
The new contract from Pacific Mining Company to Acciona Agua and Acciona Infrastructure involves development of an end-to-end solution for the iron concentrate from the Cerro Negro Norte mine, including a transport system to the filtration plant, located 82 km away at the port of Punta Totoralillo. The project will include a steel pipeline and a series of pumping stations to take operational water in the other direction from the desalination plant at Punta Totoralillo to the mine.
The project will cost US$ 143 million, and the plant is expected to come into service in 2013.
In March 2011, Acciona won a contract for design, construction, commissioning and 20-year operation for the desalination plant, which will have an initial capacity of 17,000 m³/d, which could be increased to 52,000 m³/d. It is scheduled to come into operation sometime in 2013.