Minera Candelaria Receives EIS Approval for Chile Desalination Plant

Chilean copper producer Minera Candelaria has received environmental impact study (EIS) approval from the Environment Ministry for its $270m desalination plant in Chile’s northern region III.

The desalination plant will be built by Spanish firm Aqualia, which was awarded the contract in 2010, by implementing seawater reverse osmosis technology.

The plant will supply 300l per second of desalinated water to Minera Candelaria’s copper operations, with an option to expand its capacity to up to 500l per second, reports bnamericas.com.

The work will also include the construction of an 80km pipeline to connect the plant to the freshwater pipeline between Chamonate and Candelaria.