Chilean Mine Plans Desalination Plant

Chile’s Minera Candelaria has submitted an environmental impact assessment to the national environmental authority to set up a desalination plant in Caldera Bay.

The proposed desalination plant will support copper mining operations in northern region III.

The $270m plant will initially treat 3,000l a second before its capacity is expanded to 5,000 litres a second at a later date.

The project also includes the construction of an 80km pipeline to carry treated industrial-grade water from Caldera Bay to Bodega district, according to bnamericas.com.

Minera Candelaria is a subsidiary of US-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold.