Metso valve solutions provide corrosion free control of sea water for mining project in Chile.

Sierra Gorda Sociedad Contractual Minera (SCM)are executing a copper/molybdenum desert mining project in Chile. The Atacama Desert in A...

Sierra Gorda Sociedad Contractual Minera (SCM)are executing a copper/molybdenum desert mining project in Chile. The Atacama Desert in Antofagasta region, North of Chile is one of the driest regions on earth. Precipitation is extremely rare and there is no surface water at the project area. Therefore, the project will rely heavily on sea water delivered via a 350 kilometer long pipeline from the Pacific Ocean. The Sierra Gorda mining facility is expected to process 110,000 tons per day (t/d) of mineral and its operations will begin late in 2014. The anticipated life of the project is 21 years and the equipment supplied must have a 25-year life expectancy. The engineers at SCM had to choose a vendor who could address the challenges of the project including its harsh conditions. They turned to Metso to supply state of the art control and on/off valves to be used to control the flow of process that make-up water for a variety of applications in the mine. To combat the highly corrosive effects of seawater, Metso engineered valves constructed of SMO254tm austenitic stainless steel, which are highly resistant to the effects of chlorides. Metso also deployed 54 Neles V-port segment control valves from 1" to 12", on/off valves from 3" to 18" (with Series B1, QPX pneumatic actuators or BIFFI electric actuators) as well as numerous Jamesbury ball valves. Metso and its team of process automation and flow control experts were able to deliver business solutions to the customer that improved their productivity, lowered risks and optimized costs over the lifecycle of the plant.