FLSmidth has signed a contract worth in excess of $75 million with Minera Lumina Copper Chile for the supply of design, engineering, and process equipment for its Caserones copper and molybdenum plant in central Chile. Minera Lumina Copper Chile is jointly owned by Nippon Mining & Metals Co and Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co. FLSmidth has also been awarded a contract worth EUR49.5 million from a company in the Middle East for engineering services and equipment for the expansion of a copper mine.
The Caserones plant will process around 105,000 t/d of primary and secondary copper ore. The scope of supply includes a primary crusher, cone crushers, SAG and ball mills, cyclones, flotation equipment and thickeners. Once detailed engineering is complete and final discharge points are defined, the conveyor and feeder belt systems, as well as pumps, will be added bringing the total order value to around $100 million.
“This order for all of the primary processing equipment for a large copper concentrator is a very significant contract for FLSmidth and demonstrates the focus and synergies achieved through our One Source strategy. The acquisitions over the past few years have established FLSmidth as the primary supplier of process equipment to the mining and metals industry. The value to our customers lies in the fact that FLSmidth can supply the complete flowsheet of equipment and deliver the engineering for the complete process within weeks of order placement, which reduces plant engineering costs and, most importantly to a major project, saves time,” Group CEO JÝrgen Huno Rasmussen commented.
In the Middle East, the scope of the supply for the 7 Mt/y capacity copper concentrator includes stockpile feeders, a SAG mill, ball mills, pumps and cyclones, flotation cells, concentrate and tailings thickeners and concentrate filters – comprising a full minerals processing line. “FLSmidth has a strong position in the global copper industry and this order for a complete process line further underlines the strength of our unique ability to provide a single source of products and service solutions to the copper industry,” Rasmussen said.