WATER EVAPORATION CHAPADA, BRAZIL CLIENT
LUNDIN MINING
SITE
CHAPADA
LOCATION
BRAZIL
PRODUCT
WATER EVAPORATION SOLUTION
APPLICATION
TAILINGS DAM
SCOPE
CONSULTATION, PRODUCT DELIVERY
COMPLETED
2021
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WHAT WE GOT FROM MINETEK: ENHANCED ABILTITY AND CAPABILITIES FOR MINE WATER MANAGEMENT. ED KELLEHER – DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENT, LUNDIN MINING CORPORATION
PART OF MINETEK’S STANDARD SERVICE INCLUDES AN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT TO SHOW EVAPORATION AND HUMIDITY ESTIMATES THROUGHOUT THE SEASONS.
CHAPADA, BRAZIL AERIAL VIEW OF THE INSTALLED EVAPORATORS
BUSINESS CHALLENGE Lundin Mining’s Chapada operation in Brazil is an open-pit copper and gold mine. It has been in production since 2007 and by the end of 2021 it is scheduled to have produced 50,000 tonnes of copper and 76,000 tonnes of gold. Lundin Mining were searching for a way to decrease the water in their tailings and storage dams, while facing additional challenges due to Brazil’s seasonal high rainfall and humidity. MINETEK were able to successfully support Lundin Mining with their mine water management at Chapada and based on this success, continue the partnership at additional sites across the world.
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WE CONTACTED 3 OTHER USERS OF MINETEK. ONE IN CANADA, USA AND AUSTRALIA. THEIR INPUT WAS KEY, AS THEY REPEATED THAT THE SYSTEMS WERE EFFECTIVE AND WORKED. IT REALLY HELPED US IN OUR DECISION.
ED KELLEHER – DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENT, LUNDIN MINING CORPORATION
CHOOSING MINETEK Lundin Mining had already explored many mine water management solutions, including the use of water cannons and sprinklers. The low success rate of these past solutions led Lundin Mining to be initially questioning of MINETEK’s water evaporation proposal. Proven results were paramount to the Lundin Mining team, so MINETEK presented Lundin Mining with evaporation efficiency and performance modelling, comparisons to other solutions, a cost analysis and more. Localised climactic conditions such as temperature, humidity, rainfall, wind speed and direction, and elevation are all factored into the analysis. This environmental analysis is part of MINETEK’s standard service and demonstrates the estimated evaporation rates throughout the year. Lundin Mining contacted three previous customers before agreeing to the partnership with MINETEK. All three customers, from different climactic conditions in Canada, Australia and America endorsed MINETEK’s water evaporation solution. Their positive testimonials and varying environmental conditions were a vital part of the decision-making. process. management team.
MINETEK SOLUTION After the initial proposal sign-off with Lundin Mining Management, MINETEK finalised the engineering and design process with the team on-site at Chapada. Working closely with the operations team, the MINETEK project team were agile with final changes to specifications. The 600/300 water evaporator model was selected as the best fit for Lundin Mining’s requirements at the Chapada site. The water evaporator model selected were EPOXY coated for additional longevity. Once completed the water evaporators were shipped from Australia to the site in Brazil, where the on-site team installed with the support of MINETEK’s project management team.
EVAPORATION EFFICIENCY ESTIMATE
41.5%
A SINGLE 600/300 EVAPORATOR WILL EVAPORATE Based on a 41.5% Evaporation efficiency
HOUR
>
56m3 / 249 Gallons Per Minute
DAY
>
896m3 / 358,560 Gallons Per Day
YEAR
>
327,040m3 / 130,874,400 Gallons Per Year
RESULTS After the successful installation of water evaporators at Chapada, Lundin Mining have continued to work with MINETEK to install water evaporators at additional sites, including their Neves-Corvo site in Portugal. While Lundin Mining are still collecting long term data on the results of the new evaporation system, having only been installed in 2020, they have been positive about the initial results. Due to this initial success, additional evaporation solutions are being implemented across other Lundin Mining sites. MINETEK will continue to work with the individual locations to customize the solution, based on their unique climactic conditions. Each project is treated like a new customer, which means that each site will receive site assessments, evaporation modelling, and ongoing support.
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MINETEK HAS BEEN HERE SUPPORTING US FROM CRADLE TO GRAVE. AFTER DOING A FULL COMPARISON ANALYSIS WITH DIFFERENT TECHNOLOGIES WE WENT WITH MINTEK’S SOLUTION. ED KELLEHER – DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENT, LUNDIN MINING CORPORATION
MINE WATER MANAGEMENT: The five key lessons learned in implementing a mining water evaporation solution. Ed Kelleher, Director of Environment and Camilo Martinez, Environmental Technical Manager from Lundin Mining, joined us in a Webinar to discuss their decision-making journey throughout this process. Click here for on demand access
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