Engineering and Mining Journal - Whether the market is copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, lead/zinc, PGM, diamonds or other commodities, E&MJ takes the lead in projecting trends, following development and reporting on the most efficient operating pr
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46 E&MJ; • JULY 2014 www.e-mj.com PA M PA C A M A R O N E S above sea level and then drops to the plant located 12 km away at an eleva- tion of 860 m above sea level. The sys- tem delivers 30 liters per second of water. The water is stored in a 14,000- m 3 pond, which is used to irrigate the heaps and also to feed the osmosis plant that obtains demineralized water for the electrowinning (EW) process. The Punta Madrid pumping station, which was built by Pampa Camarones and Propipe, sits at 350 m above sea level. The seawater is pumped in four stages. Three pumps located at 0, 110 m and 220 m push the water to the Punta Madrid station, then two 450-kW multistage horizontal centrifugal units rated at 94 m 3 /h pump the water to 1,022 m. "This seawater pumping system required a great deal of effort. It was a real challenge, not only for the resources, but also the engineering and construction constraints we experi- enced," Velasco said. "However, we believe that in the future this facility will help increase the water supply in the region rather than extracting water from the area. That's why we chose this approach to supply seawater for the project." Energizing the Project Pampa Camarones has also engaged the community with a commitment for power. The company will build the Vítor power substation in the Camarones zone, which will power the surrounding small towns on a permanent basis and act as a backup for the mine. These towns currently use other power sources. This development in energy alone will bring great forward progress to the zone. An initiative that has been pursued for a long time by the regional government will now become a reality thanks to the copper miners. For much of its power needs, Pampa Camarones will rely on solar power. "Continuing with our commitment to sustainability, we entered into an agree- ment with E-CL for the construction of an 8-MW photovoltaic plant. The supply will be entirely consumed by our cath- ode plant, crushing plant and seawater pumping system," Velasco said. The Processing Plant The first stage at the Pampa Camarones cathode plant consists of a crushing and agglomeration plant; downstream are the leach heaps, from which the copper-bearing solution reports to the SX-EW recovery system. Plant design and construction was managed by Pampa Camarones, which worked with several engineering, procurement and construction contractors. The SX-EW plant and tank farm (TF) were built by Ingeniería Ancor-Tecmin, while Procter S.A. installed all instru- mentation and electricity in the plant, and the local Chilean utility company Emelari installed the power poles. Other Chilean manufacturers/suppliers and contractors were involved in key tasks. The crushing plant was built by a Chilean company called Trébol; civil works were carried out by Petra; steel structures were developed by ODR Ltda.; and Propipe S.A. designed, engi- neered, and built the process pipe- lines and part of the seawater pipeline as well. M3 S.A. carried out the earth- moving works and built some heaps and water storage ponds. The lining placed in those storage ponds was developed by Incomin Ltda. Run-of-mine ore is hauled to stock- piles or directly to the crushing plant. Radial stackers place crushed ore onto the leach pads. The heaps are irrigated with water and acid, and the pregnant leach solution is stored in ponds until it is fed to the solvent extraction (SX) process. Subsequently, that solution flows down to the solution heating and TF zone. The circuit ends at the EW Technicians inspect the automated cathode stripping system. EMJ_pg42-49_EMJ_pg42-49 7/2/14 4:59 PM Page 46