Mining Companies will invest over U.S. $ 10 billion for seawater plants up to 2022
This year, desalination plants of Mantoverde From Anglo and CAP Mining will come into operation
The sea water is three to four times more expensive than sweets sources from either underground river or ocean not a source. This is demonstrated by the Mining Council based in international consulting studies, which shows that in Chile the cost of sea water is U.S. $ 5.1 per cubic meter (m3), versus $ 1.6 / m3 which presents fresh water. Despite the cost higher than means this equation, mining companies are turning strongly toward seawater, revealing of this form the scarcity that exists of this resource in northern Chile. A 2022, the Ministry of Mining has registered to be invested U.S. $ 10 billion by the mining to draw water from sea.
A high cost required
The president of the National Mining Society (Sonami), Alberto Salas, said his sector consumes “4.5% of the country’s water, and we have made significant efforts in water efficiency.” To illustrate this, Salas compared that “agriculture consumes 80% of the total water in the country”. However, the union leader said that “all mining, from Arica to the Sixth Region, consumes 12 m3/sec, and that is equal to Canal San Carlos de Santiago”.
According to figures compiled by the Ministry of Mining sector now consumes 1.2 m3 / s of desalinated water and between 0.9 and 1.6 m3 / s of seawater, totaling an amount between 2.1 and 2,8 m3 / s that marine water consumed in mining. Looking towards 2022, there are projects that materialize all mining additionally provide between 10.4 and 10.9 m3 / s of desalinated water and 3.5 m3 / s of sea water, adding between 13.9 and 14.5 m3 / s of additional water sea origin for the minerals industry.
Given this, the 2022 mining would be supplied between 11.6 and 12.1 m3 / s of desalinated water, and between 4.4 and 5.2 m3 / s of sea water, which would total an amount between 16 , 0 and 17.2 m3 / s of seawater used in mining.
Salas recorded that “in ten years we will raise our total water consumption by about 35%, and spend at about 17 m3/sec.”.
Projects
There are 16 official initiatives to stock mining companies seawater, totaling at least U.S. $ 10 billion investment. This figure considers only so far transcended amounts of these initiatives.
The spearhead of the investments would be led by The El Abra Mill desalination plant, the El Abra mine (linked to Codelco and Freeport). Industry sources say that this project could come to mean U.S. $ 4 billion. Another big investment is the Coloso II desalination plant for Escondida, controlled by BHP Billiton, which is estimated at U.S. $ 3,500 million.
Moreover, Codelco will inject about U.S. $ 1200 million in the desalination plant Radomiro Tomic, the Gold Mining El Morro would invest about $ 900 million in its plant, and would follow it by CAP (U.S. $ 360 million), Mantoverde (U.S. $ 62 million) and Algorta (U.S. $ 30 million).
The closest to be operational, according to their announced dates are Mantoverde desalination plant from Anglo American, which will be in operation this year, and the plant that opened in September by CAP Mining.
When he was asked about the future of these projects, the Mining Minister Hernan de Solminihac said that “clearly we have a shortage of water, so that the companies have to find new sources. It is an interesting alternative (…) obviously seawater has an additional cost, but given the scarcity, is a viable alternative. “
Source: Diario Financiero
