Metallurgical technology specialist, Outotec has signed a contract with Chile and the world's top copper miner Codelco for the delivery of concentration technology for a slag treatment plant to be located in connection with the Potrerillos copper smelter in Northern Chile. The contract is worth some EUR 10 million.

Outotec's scope of supply includes delivery of proprietary equipment: two grinding mills, flotation cells and a pressure filter. Outotec will also provide spare parts as well as installation, commissioning and start up services for the delivered equipment.

The Potrerillos smelter uses Codelco Teniente Converter technology for further refining copper after the smelting. The slag from this process contains 8% to 11% of copper. In the new concentrator the slag will then be processed to maximize copper recovery and metallurgical yield. The new plant will process 1,700 tonnes of slag per day.

Mr Pertti Korhonen CEO of Outotec said that "Our customers' growing expectations for the best use of their raw materials translates into a higher demand for complete, efficient process technology solutions. Outotec has proven over and over again that we can meet this demand. Codelco is the world's largest copper producer and Outotec has a reputation of being the leading copper slag treatment technology supplier. This contract is a good example of our unique technologies and expertize and ability to deliver demanding, integrated solutions."

(Sourced from www.mineweb.com)