Amec Foster Wheeler announced in early December the award of an engineering services contract by Chilean copper producer Codelco for a new secondary ore grinding facility at the Chuquicamata copper concentrator facility in northern Chile.
Modifications to the existing ore milling plant are intended to substantially improve the copper plant efficiency and increase copper recovery in the SAG mill section of the Chuquicamata plant by reducing the particle size of the final product.
Work has begun and is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2015.
Under the contract, Amec Foster Wheeler will provide engineering services, including design and field engineering support, for the new secondary ore grinding processing area. The new facilities planned include a new ball mill, a separate building for hydrocyclones, pebble recirculation material handling, an ore pulp transportation system and a new copper concentrate plant.
