Peruvian company Compañía Minera Milpo has awarded Veolia subsidiary Veolia Peru a three-year operation and maintenance (O&M) contract for the desalination plant at the Cerro Lindo mine.
The contract covers water intake and the production of desalinated water by reverse osmosis.
The desalination plant has an industrial process water production capacity of 48 liters/second of water to meet the Cerro Lindo site’s needs. Starting in 2016, the output will be raised to 60 liters/second - a 20% improvement in the plant’s performance from its current level.
Cerro Lindo is a mine located south of Lima, in the Ica region, on the edge of the Topará River ravine.
The river water is used by the local Chavín communities and downstream in the Topará Valley. Passing through an arid and desert region, the river’s low flow rate is a real challenge for developing the region’s agriculture.
In 2007, Cerro Lindo became the first mining site in Peru to stop using river water for its mining operations. Its desalination plant now supplies the site with industrial process water.
The seawater intake is on the Peruvian coast. The water is desalinated by Veolia before being transported 40 km away at the Cerro Lindo site, which is at an altitude of 1,850 meters.
Ramon Rebuelta, director Latin America Zone, Veolia, said: “Seawater desalination for process water is a rapidly expanding activity in areas of Latin America suffering from water stress.”
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