Spain’s Acciona Agua has been selected by Grupo CAP to design, build, bring into service and operate for 20 years a seawater desalination plant to service mining operations in the Copiapó Valley in Chile’s Atacama Region III.
The US$ 63.5 million plant will have an initial capacity of 17,000 m³/d, which could be increased to a maximum 52,000 m³/d. The project is scheduled for completion in early 2013.
The reverse-osmosis plant will be built near the port of Punto Totoralillo, one of several owned by CAP Minería in Atacama. It will be located 25 km north of the city of Caldera, 82 km from the mining operations in Cerro Negro Norte and 120 km from the group’s Planta Magnetita operations.