Chile
The Minera Escondida copper mine is in the Atacama Desert, one of the driest on earth and faced the challenge of having to eliminate the use of lake water and natural resources from their mining process. To support the need for reliable water supply, seawater desalination was chosen as the preferred method to supply water to the mine, providing greater water security and reducing the mine’s consumption of non-renewable freshwater. ABB delivered an integrated automation and electrical solution, using a reverse-osmosis process, to provide desalinated water to the copper mine.
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