N.A. Water Systems Breaks Ground on Mine Water Project
N.A. Water Systems, a Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies company, announced on Nov. 21 the groundbreaking of a $25-million project to design and build a water treatment plant at the Minera Chinalco Peru S.A. Kingsmill Tunnel Water Treatment Plant site east of Lima near the border of Junin Province.
The Pittsburgh, Pa.-based company partnered with Cosapi S.A. Ingenieria Y Construccion, a Peruvian engineering and construction company.
Historical mining practices in the area fill the 11.2-km Kingsmill Tunnel continuously with acidic mine drainage containing metal contaminants that discharges directly into the Yauli River. Minera Chinalco Peru S.A. is cleaning up the historic pollution prior to initiating operations in the area because “it’s the right thing to do,” according to a Chinalco spokesman.
HDS (high density sludge) technology is being employed. This technology uses a
sludge recirculation process to create a crystalline sludge that minimizes waste volume, lowers disposal costs, and reduces environmental impacts.
N.A. Water Systems’ full scope of responsibility included the basic engineering, detailed design for electrical and I&C/SCADA system, major equipment procurement, start-up, commissioning, training, and performance testing, plus a performance guarantee for the treatment facility. The work scope also included a four-week bench-scale testing program and evaluation of various potential value-added approaches for the design. Start-up of the water treatment system is scheduled for September 2009.