Tedagua presents the Spence Mine desalination plant during the Latin America desalination conference.

On March 25, Tedagua attended the business conference on desalination in Latin America to present the works performed at the Spence Mine desalinated water production plant.

Located on lands neighboring the city of Mejillones, in the Antofagasta region, the desalination plant is part of the Spence Growth Option (SGO) project undertaken by the BHP-Billiton Australian multi-national company, where Tedagua has led both the concession sponsoring company -CAITAN- and the constructing consortium.

The project consists of the construction of a seawater desalination plant and all the necessary facilities to be able to supply the water required by the production processes of the Spence Mine. This desalination plant uses reverse osmosis technology, and will have a production capacity of 86,400 m³ per day. Equally important is the installation of 154 km of pipelines plus the feat of pumping water over height differences in excess of 1,650 meters.

The presentation was given by the Director of Business Development of Tedagua, Luis Miguel Arauzo, where he referred to how innovative the financing scheme has been in the mining sector and the great challenge of undertaking a project this size. Additionally, he highlighted the cutting-edge use of state-of-the-art technology in the water sector, and the firm commitment to environmental sustainability that this plant implies.

This project is of special importance for a region that sees a significant amount of copper mining activities since, thanks to the use of desalinated water in mineral obtainment processes, a higher water sustainability is achieved, the use of surface or underground fresh water -which is scarce in the region- is avoided and a new, greener economic model is implemented.