Two large contracts in desalination projects for the mining industry in South American were announced on 1 March 2012 by Energy Recovery Inc (ERI), which will be supplying its PX Pressure Exchangers to both projects.
The Copiapó Valley project, in northern Chile, will be built by Acciona Agua and is owned by Grupo CAP The second project was awarded by an undisclosed firm.
Both projects are expected to be built in 2012.
The Copiapó plant, producing 17,000 m³/d of water, is expected to be increased to 52,000 m³/d.
“The mining industry in Chile is growing,” said Tom Rooney, chief executive officer of ERI. “We are pleased that, to date, ERI has been selected for the vast majority of desalination projects in Chile for mining applications.”