Verallia, considered a world leader in the glass packaging sectors for wines, spirits and food, produces more than 16,000 million containers each year for its more than 10,000 customers around the world. In Chile, the company produces glass bottles to serve mainly the wine industry, using the latest technology available in the manufacture of glass containers in its modern plant located in Rengo.

In order to maintain this leadership, Verallia decided to modernize its factory, which was enabled to produce 240 tons of molten glass per day through the operation of a melting furnace and 2 production lines with 120 tons/day of processing capacity each.

The constructed area of the factory was 4.7 ha, due to the fact that in recent years a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tank was implemented that occupies an area of 525 m2, a treatment plant of “cullet” or calcín (glass from recycling) that occupies an area of approximately 591 m2.

The project carried out by Pa Engineering contemplated increasing the production capacity of the factory to total 405 tons/day of molten glass, for which the replacement of the current furnace was considered, because it fulfilled its useful life, with a new one that allowed the integration of the largest amount of molten glass, and the incorporation of a new production line of 165 tons/day.

To carry out this work, the building where the production is carried out was expanded, which also houses the new melting furnace and the new production line, plus an electrical room to supply the energy demand of the new facilities.

In addition, in the EPCM development, due to the increase in processing capacity at the factory, the expansion and modification of some of the existing facilities was contemplated, such as the finished product warehouse, truck loading yard, cullet tanks, process water plant, LNG storage area and parking lots.

An important point to note is that while the project was being developed, the production process never stopped, consequently, once the new furnace was implemented, the operation of the old furnace was deactivated. Achieving the above requires great planning and coordination of the entire team of specialists from the conception of the project to carry out the designs and define the construction sequence without altering the normal operation of the plant or risking the safety of the workers.

The project carried out by PA Engineering contemplated increasing the production capacity of the factory to total 405 tons/day of molten glass, for which the replacement of the current furnace was considered, because it fulfilled its useful life, with a new one that allowed the integration of the largest amount of molten glass, and the incorporation of a new production line of 165 tons/day.

To carry out this work, the building where the production is carried out was expanded, which also houses the new melting furnace and the new production line, plus an electrical room to supply the energy demand of the new facilities.

In addition, in the EPCM development, due to the increase in processing capacity at the factory, the expansion and modification of some of the existing facilities was contemplated, such as the finished product warehouse, truck loading yard, cullet tanks, process water plant, LNG storage area and parking lots. An important point to note is that while the project was being developed, the production process never stopped, consequently, once the new furnace was implemented, the operation of the old furnace was deactivated. Achieving the above requires great planning and coordination of the entire team of specialists from the conception of the project to carry out the designs and define the construction sequence without altering the normal operation of the plant or risking the safety of the workers.

The project for Maersk Container Industry was executed under the EPCM modality and consisted of the construction of a refrigerated container factory. The construction of the plant was approximately 70,000 m2 and was located on a 330,000 m2 site, producing 40,000 containers per year.

After the earthquake of February 27, 2010, SVTI required a survey of the damage caused by the earthquake. PA Engineering developed the studies and basic engineering to address these improvements. Then it executed the detailed engineering for the new berthing site No. 4, which was planned to be built next to site No. 3, a development framed in the general repair project of the Port.

Along with the projection of the esplanade to a new site, the designs of the slabs, crane support beams, earthworks and pile specification were contemplated.

Subsequently, PA Engineering developed the basic engineering for the standardization of the terminal’s fire protection system, and the construction support engineering for the rehabilitation of sites No. 2 and No. 3, the esplanade and container yard, repair of the Water Pond and revision of the fire protection system.

Panels Arauco S.A. built a new Medium Density Particle Board (MDP) plant. The project included the installation of two lamination lines for the production of melamine boards and an impregnation line for the preparation of the melamine papers required for the panel lamination process.

The nominal production capacity is 300,000 m3 of finished panels per year, with densities ranging from 600 to 760 kg/m3. The production capacity of melamine-coated boards is 250,000 m3 per year, and the capacity of the impregnation line will be 36,000,000 m2 per year.

In mid-2011, the management of CMPC Maderas’ Plywood plant requested support to estimate the investment involved in expanding its facilities to double its production, going from 240,000 m3 to 500,000 m3 of panels per year without stopping its operation, and to incorporate new technologies to optimize its processes and the efficient use of energy. This is how PA Engineering takes on the challenge, but with an extra ingredient, to carry out the task under the demands and commitment involved in carrying out an EPCM Target Price.

In the first stage of the project, and with the intention of estimating the investment to carry out the transformation of Plywood, a group of PA Engineering professionals worked on the basic engineering.

In May 2012, the second stage of the project began, the development of detailed engineering in mechanics, piping, civil and structures, electricity and instrumentation and control, which implied not only the expansion of the plant on its four sides, but also the redesign and expansion of the by-product handling areas.  the steam networks, compressed air, fire network, sewage treatment plant and electrical system.

As the detailed engineering progressed, advances began in the procurement, in order to begin construction, all under strict control of compliance with deadlines and Capex and without interfering with the normal operating schedule of the plant.

The expansion project to increase production from 240,000 m3/year to 500,000 m3/year of finished plywood, also included the expansion of the industrial warehouse by 31 thousand m2, expansion of the office building, doubling the storage capacity of the piece yard, incorporating an additional unwinding line with its respective by-product handling area,  two dryers, an additional joining machine, two automatic gluing and arming lines, two cold presses and two hot presses, and in the finishing area, two automatic panel repair lines and a new squaring and sanding line were incorporated. Additionally, a line was installed to provide greater added value to the panels (texturing, profiling and grooving).

Along with this, the pending areas of the original project were carried out: paving of interior roads, warehouse buildings, spare parts, maintenance workshops, quality control laboratory, dressing rooms, casino, operations and administration offices.

PA Engineering intervened in the proposal through the development of the conceptual engineering, estimating the investment necessary to carry out the project. Subsequently, we presented the basic engineering, in which the required processes were defined, then developed the detailed engineering in all disciplines and the management of the procurement of the equipment abroad.

Along with this work, the PA Engineering Environmental Management, worked on the archaeological survey and the obtaining of related environmental permits. Then the Engineering Management developed the construction program and provided the ground engineering, which allowed the required adjustments to be made to the details of the construction.

The project consisted of the detailed engineering design of a semi-refrigerated LPG storage terminal, consisting of a sphere of 10,000 m3, 2,000mts. of 12″ pipeline (800 meters underground and 1,200 meters underwater), 200,000 Kcal refrigeration system, island and truck loading pumps, fire protection system, flame and gas detection and auxiliary equipment (air compressor, backup generator, SSEE) as well as piping, valves and instruments.

In addition, PA Engineering services included project management, planning, supervision, inspection (mechanical and electro-instrumental ITO), quality assurance, procurement of equipment and materials, in conjunction with the client, document control and planning and control of the progress of the different subcontracts corresponding to the project.

The project considered an investment of US$ 27.5 million, which was completed to the satisfaction of the client in cost and time

The Talabre Dam, located in the Chuquicamata mining district, is currently in operation in its Stage VIII of growth, with a final capacity of 1,451 Mm3. The operation of the dam includes the gradual growth of the perimeter walls, which are designed to the highest standards to meet the demand for tailings storage. An upcoming expansion of the perimeter walls called Construction IX stage Talabre dam is projected, which will operate until 2030, reaching a final capacity of 1,771 Mm3.

Through a tender, Codelco’s Vice Presidency has awarded PA Engineering the development of the detailed engineering for several systems of the Construction IX Phase Talabre Dam project. These include the Tailings Conduction and Deposit System, the Water Recovery and Recirculation System, the Hydraulic Barrier, the Electric Supply, and the Centralized Monitoring and Control. The designs are being carried out using BIM and Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) methodologies.

This project foresees an increase of 320 million cubic meters in the tailings storage capacity of the Ministro Hales and Chuquicamata divisions, which will imply the growth of the perimeter walls of the Talabre Dam, raising the level from 2496 meters above sea level to 2500 meters above sea level.

The Project consisted of modifying the infrastructure in the plant to introduce a leaching process with high chlorine content, using the Cuprochlor® technology, which Antofagasta Minerals has been using for some years, allowing to improve the recovery of sulphide minerals that exist in the deposit and that are part of its base case. These sulphide, by the conventional leaching method in an acid medium, reach an average recovery between the ranges of 50% to 55%; With this technology, it is projected to reach values in ranges above 70%.

With the aim of accelerating the committed decarbonization, HIF set out to develop the first demonstration plant to generate E-Methanol and E-Gasoline from carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air and hydrogen (H2) from water, including a wind turbine, an electrolyzer for hydrogen generation, CO2 capture, methanol synthesis, the Methanol-to-Gasoline (MtG) process and the entire balance of plant (BOP) in the Magallanes Region.  Chile.

HIF built the Haru Oni demonstration plant. This is one of the first projects of its kind in the world. The plant obtains green hydrogen from water based on an electrolyzer powered by wind energy; then, the hydrogen is combined with CO2 captured from the atmosphere and through a synthesis process methanol is produced. The methanol produced is treated and then transformed into E-Fuel (MtG process), including carbon-neutral gasoline and carbon-neutral liquefied gas. These E-Fuels cement the way for existing infrastructure to be carbon neutral, through the continuous reuse of CO2.

PA Engineering developed the BOP engineering of the MtG Plant, performing the basic and detailed engineering in mechanical, piping, structural, electrical and instrumental and control necessary to complete the MtG System, including the MtG unit building, the Tank Farm, the electrical power system, the interconnections with the methanol plant,  truck loading systems and facilities for other supplies from the MtG and Tank Farm areas.

The wind farms will have a combined capacity of 267 megawatts. The most advanced is San Gabriel, which will be made up of 61 AW132/3000 wind turbines, with 3 MW of nominal power, each wind turbine will mount a rotor of 132 meters in diameter on a concrete tower with a hub height of 120 meters, reinforced with anti-seismic technology.

The Tolpán Sur wind farm will have an 84 MW installation, made up of 28 turbines like those planned in San Gabriel. Both parks are expected to provide clean energy to about 407,000 homes. The Project is still under construction.

Orafti Chile commissioned a study of energy consumption optimization to the engineering office of its parent company in Germany. The objective of this study was to reduce the thermal energy consumption of the plant.

The project to reduce the energy consumption of its Inulin production plant began with the conceptual engineering study carried out by PA Engineering. The project included the piping to interconnect the new equipment and the replacement of existing lines, either due to hydraulic or material requirements. Then, basic and detailed engineering was carried out, which included modifications and new installations, the arrangement of evaporators, modifications to existing ones, installation of heat exchangers and transformation of existing ones, installation of pumps and tanks, assembly and/or modification of piping circuits, among others.

The project consisted of the recovery of CO2 carbon dioxide from an outlet gas stream (Tail gas), rich in CO2, hydrogen H2 and methane CH4, which was generated at the CHT Hydrogen Plant of ENAP Bío Bío Refinery. This current was returned to the reforming furnaces of the plant to be used as fuel, where the CO2 contained was released into the environment because of combustion.

PA Engineering participated in developing the Environmental Impact Statement in 2005, when this project began with the signing of an agreement between INDURA and ENAP Refineries, with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions in said refinery and thus accessing the issuance of Carbon Credits, tradable in the market to companies that are obliged to emit fewer Greenhouse Gases.  generating both economic and environmental benefits. 

PA Engineering performed basic and detail engineering in different disciplnes in 2007. The project considered the installation of a CO2 recovery plant from the Tail gas stream, which was composed of the necessary equipment to efficiently extract CO2 from said stream, for subsequent purification and liquefaction, with an approximate production of 3,600 tons/month.

In turn, Indura managed to reduce the use of fossil fuel (natural gas and propane) previously used to produce the CO2 it produces.

This project became the first plant to capture and produce CO2, based on a methodology developed by both companies approved by the Executive Board of the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).

In 2014, Minera Centinela, an operation of Antofagasta Minerals, was faced with the need to eliminate one of the bottlenecks that prevented its concentrator from operating at nominal capacity, i.e., 100 thousand tons per day.

The proposed solution was to carry out an EPC project to build a secondary and tertiary crushing plant in parallel to the existing line, so that it will process the difference of approximately 20 thousand tons per day and will feed directly to the ball mills that have the available grinding capacity.

Within this EPC, PA Engineering performed the construction management, part of the engineering and the supply of the related materials and equipment. The scope of the engineering included the complete civil works of the project, the piping engineering, including the fire protection network, the piping and the electrical, instrumentation and control interconnection, as well as the processing of sectorial permits.

During 2015, this project came into operation, which allowed the concentrator plant to reach its design capacity.

Advanced basic engineering was developed in different disciplines to incorporate fire protection systems in ore transport and handling belts and the Solvent Extraction and Electro-winning plants, using the BIM and AWP Methodologies.

It should be noted that PA Engineering to develop this project used internal BIM procedures that were the basis for obtaining the International Certification in Information Management for BIM projects ISO 19650-1/2, which was awarded by AENOR in 2022 after successfully passing the evaluation and thus consolidating a leap in quality in the information management processes.

Thanks to the characteristics of the 3D design software that was selected to facilitate collaborative work and the application of methodology, it was possible during the execution of the project to have the data related to each other, which allowed the possibility of modifying elements or part of the project and that these were published for all those involved, thus updating the project information, i.e. 2D and 3D models (plans, listings, reports, etc.). 

In this way, the administration of the project was streamlined and there was a greater control of the information, being able to detect early design errors, interferences between disciplines, facilitate the construction interpretation, analysis of safety and maintainability aspects, the updating of cubic and drawings is achieved instantly, it was the main form of communication both internally and with the client, among other benefits. By performing the work under these conditions, it was possible to obtain a 3D model of the project with a degree of detail and characteristics representative of the stages of review with the client.

This will represent a benefit in the execution stage of the project, since the progress control and the solution of constructive interferences were analysed early, thus achieving the essential objective of the methodology, since the use of BIM must go beyond the design phases, it must necessarily extend throughout the life cycle of the asset, allowing the management of this with the objective of lowering costs in the construction and operation stages. 

COPEC has a plant for the reception, storage and dispatch of clean products (diesel, kerosene, gasoline). The project involved the construction of a new 10,000 m3 diesel storage tank.

Minera Exar, an Argentine company formed by Lithium Americas Corp. (49%) and Ganfeng Lithium (51%), is engaged in the development and production of lithium in the Cauchari Olaroz Salar. In 2019, the mining company started the expansion of its lithium carbonate plant, with the intention of adding 15,000 ton/year to the current 25,000 ton/year. In addition, the project contemplated nine new evaporation basins, which would be added to the three existing ones.

Tenova, a global provider of advanced technologies, products and engineering services for the mining industry, asked PA Engineering to develop the mechanical and piping, structural, electrical and instrumentation and control detail engineering, including 3D models, of the SX plant for the construction and erection of the new facilities.

Although the pandemic context affected the pace of construction, given that the percentage of people was reduced to adapt to the sanitary measures in force, progress continued, and the plant was inaugurated at the end of 2024.

A “Grass Root” project was developed in a plant producing 120,000 tonnes per year of adhesive resins for wood panels. The project included the installation of four reactors to produce resins and a plant of 35,000 (tons/year) of formaldehyde, plus all the auxiliary systems for its operation, such as: compressed air system, steam boilers, cooling water system, RILES treatment plant, storage of raw materials and products, electrical systems, etc.  instrumentation and control, etc.

This project passed all the regulations and certifications required by the German environmental, safety and TUV quality certification bodies.

COPEC has a base and blending reception plant to produce lubricating oils in Quintero, so the objective of this project was to expand the plant’s storage capacity, through the installation and interconnection of three new tanks of 1,000 m3 each.

On September 1, 2010, Codelco’s Board of Directors at the time decided to create the Ministro Hales Division, the youngest of the Corporation, to increase the value of the state-owned company through the exploitation and processing of minerals from the deposit, originally known as Mansa Mina.

The project, led by Codelco’s Corporate Vice-Presidency, included the realization of the mine area, material removal and construction of the open pit mine; the infrastructure, where the facilities for maintenance services and the administration and engineering facilities would be located; the concentrator plant, with the processes of primary crushing, belt transport, stockpiling, milling and flotation; and the roasting plant.   

PA Engineering, together with Echeverría Izquierdo, presented a project for the EPC engineering and construction of two lime milk plants for the new Ministro Hales Division, one to feed the grinding plant for the flotation process and the other for the neutralization of effluents in the roasting plant. The proposal included Project management, engineering, procurement of equipment (including offshore fabrication inspection) and materials, project management, site engineering and construction technical support, commissioning and start-up of the two units.

The project was developed between 2012 and 2013, for two storage silos (750 ton) and lime milk preparation systems (8.6 ton/h) equipped with the largest slakers available in the industry (12 t7h) for the Concentrator and Roasting plants. In addition, the interconnection of services to the slurry preparation systems was made from the existing grate to each of the respective systems.

Finally, connections were made to the concentrator and roasting electrical room (subway duct bank) and connections to the concentrator and roasting control room (signal repeater via fiber optics, subway duct bank).

On January 5, 2016, the open pit mine was officially inaugurated, located at an altitude of 2,600 meters and almost 10 kilometres north of Calama along the road that connects this city with Chuquicamata. It is currently one of the most modern copper production complexes in the country and produces copper calcine, copper concentrate and silver.

According to Codelco’s website, the hallmark of Ministro Hales is determined using technology and innovation in its processes, with an operation that respects environmental regulations and is in permanent contact with the communities. In 2020 it produced 170,606 metric tons of fine copper and 260,981 kilos of silver.

Built by Geotérmica del Norte – GDN, a joint venture between Enel Green Power Chile and ENAP, the plant, which uses high-enthalpy binary cycle technology, is the only geothermal plant in operation in South America and the highest of its kind in the world, as it is located at 4,500 meters above sea level.

This plant has two units with a installed capacity of 24 MW each for a total capacity of 48 MW and Enel is currently developing part 3 of the project, which is the installation of a third unit. In full operation, Cerro Pabellón is expected to be capable of producing around 340 GWh per year, which is equivalent to the annual consumption needs of more than 165,000 Chilean households, avoiding the emission of more than 166,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere each year.

PA Engineering developed the Gathering System Detail Engineering of Cerro Pabellón 3, with scope of the structural, electrical and instrumental civil disciplines and control. The third unit is expected to come into operation in 2021, as reported by Enel Greenpower on its website.

With the aim of facilitating and speeding up the loading and unloading of gas, through the mechanized handling of cylinder pallets for the Maipú Plant in Abastible, PA Engineering developed the engineering, in several disciplines, for the complete palletization of the production process of the Plant, which involved the installation of LPG cylinder palletizing equipment in the production lines of packaging of 5, 11 and 15Kg.

The project was carried out in two stages, given the need to clear certain areas before carrying out the project. The first phase corresponded to the construction of 5 double loading islands, the expansion of the pump room, transfer of equipment and new canopy structures for the islands, access gate to the plant and truck parking lots, with rainwater management.

The second stage corresponded to the assembly of the new projected palletizing equipment, the incorporation of leveling and new rainwater systems of the maneuvering yard, construction of pits and relocation of existing networks.

The Luz del Norte project is a solar photovoltaic (PV) power in 478 hectares of land, diversifying Chile’s energy portfolio.

The 141 megawatt (MW) alternating current project is powered by more than 1.7 million First Solar advanced thin-film PV modules, which produce enough solar energy to power 174,000 homes and displace the equivalent of more than 185,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year.

Grouped into four subsectors or PVCS units, each of these four PVCS units was connected to the substation considered in the project through a 23 kV collector. This new substation collects the plant’s 162 MW and connects it to the nearest existing substation in the system.

The project considered basic and detailed engineering, supplies, construction of civil works, manufacture and assembly of geodesic dome-type metal structures to specify the coverage of the court, which has multiple characteristics such as being self-supporting, light and allows it to adapt to the geometry of the terrain. This particularity makes the construction fast and similar to a large puzzle that is assembled by technical teams throughout the coverage area, without the use of cranes.

Once the structure was completed, a base cover of ribbed metal sheets was laid, similar to those used in industrial buildings. The project covered an area of 45,000 m2.

Albemarle is developing the Capricorn project, or expansion of the La Negra III Plant, to increase the production capacity of its La Negra plant from its current capacity of 44,000 metric tons per year to 80,000 metric tons per year of lithium carbonate.

As part of this expansion, Pares&Alvarez first develops the detailed engineering of the soda ash transport system, whose objective is to take it from the new storage cellar to the ash wetting system. This also included an air transport system, designed by Noltec, with a layout of around 450 miters installed in the main piperack of the expansion project of the La Negra III plant.  During the project, the technical bases for the purchase of equipment were also made.  The system considered structures, pipes, equipment, and a water cooler.

In parallel, PA Engineering developed detailed engineering in all disciplines, with a strong field support component to the EISI EPC project, of the solvent extraction system to remove boron from the brine with lithium.

Finally, PA Engineering engineered install a salt chiller screw in the thermal evaporation plant for the generation of condensate directly for Albemarle.

La Negra Receives the concentrated brine from the Salar Plant and performs, first, a purification process and then a chemical conversion process. This plant was the first of its kind in Chile and began operations in 1984, when Plant I made the first production of Lithium Carbonate.

In May 2017, Albemarle inaugurated Plant II, the most modern in Latin America to produce battery grade lithium carbonate, a high value-added material essential for the energy storage market and the development of batteries for electric vehicles.

This new plant, which doubles the production capacity of The Black Chemical Plant, responds to the company’s expansion plan and the commitment to consolidate Chile as one of the major playersin the global lithium industry and, specifically, Antofagasta, as the epicenter of the technological revolution associated with lithium.

The new plant delivers a product of high quality and added value, according to the technical requirements of lithium battery manufacturers. For this, technological improvements were made including less use of energy and water, and an increase in the efficiency of the processing of the concentrated brine from the Salar Plant.

Plant III is currently being built, which will transform La Negra Chemical Plant into one of the largest lithium carbonate production complexes in the world by doubling the current production capacity, according to information obtained on the Albemarle website.

In 2008, PA Engineering was invited to participate in the development of the civil detail engineering, with the aim of designing the foundations required to support the 3 wind turbines that the wind farm will have. Then, the client requested the electrical detail engineering for the construction of the medium voltage line that connects the wind generators with the plant.

With the groundbreaking ceremony on December 11, 2009, this Bicentennial project began, which was inaugurated in October 2010 and involved a direct investment of US$ 5.3 million.

The wind farm included the construction of three wind turbines with a combined capacity of 2.55 MW, which supplied electricity to the Methanex facilities, from wind, and thus reduce CO2 emissions by 12,129 tonnes.

The coal power plant, with a gross rated power of 350 MW, uses pulverized bituminous coal as its main fuel. PA Engineering developed the detailed engineering in all disciplines for the seawater system of the new plant. This included the collection, treatment and impulsion to the plant and its return to the sea.

The seawater system, with a capacity of 50,000 m3/h, includes the water intake, siphon on the quay, pumping pit (14 x 45 x 18 m), seawater circuits to the plant and return circuits of 2 x 1,500 m in length for delivery at sea.

The project aimed to improve the Evaporators area of the Constitución plant, to improve its operational availability and achieve a stable generation of black liquor with 70% solids to be burned in the recovery boiler. The main equipment has been purchased from the supplier Valmet Brazil. The project considers a net evaporation rate of 325 tons/h of water and a solids concentration of 70% virgin for Black Liquor.

PA Engineering developed the basic and detail engineering for the improvement of the Instrumentation and Service Air System of Ventana 1 and Ventana 2. In addition, the engineering was done for a short-term solution in the use of water from ESVAL, for the replacement of the slag silo bucket elevator. 

Eléctrica Ventanas Company, a subsidiary of the AES Gener Group, operates the Nueva Ventanas thermoelectric, a plant that has an installed capacity of 272 MW that it injects into the Central Interconnected System (SIC). Nueva Ventanas has state-of-the-art technology to minimize its emissions into the atmosphere: semi-dry desulfurization (SDA) equipment for the reduction of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions; Bag Filter System that captures 99.9% of particulate matter (PM), and adjustable tangential carbon burners, which reduce the generation of Nitrogen Oxides (NOx).

In 2005, the construction of the Spence Mining Company began and two years later it started production, consolidating itself over time as a relevant deposit in BHP’s investment portfolio.

In August 2017, BHP approved the Spence Growth Option (SGO) project, with an estimated investment of US$2.46 million, which was aligned with the mining company’s corporate strategy of having large, long-lived and low-cost operations.

With this, the site took a big step thanks to the construction of the SGO project, which allows Spence to project itself in the long term through the treatment of hypogene minerals through a concentrator plant, which operates in conjunction with the current FullSal mixed mineral leaching process.

Overall, the project comprised a new 95,000 tpd concentrator plant, extending the life of the Spence mine by more than 50 years, and the commissioning of the desalination plant.

The desalination plant, which considers the use of seawater for 100% of the mining process, uses reverse osmosis technology and has an approximate capacity of 1,000 l/s of water and required 154 km of water piping from the plant to the mine operation.

Pares&Alvarez developed basic and detailed engineering in instrumentation and control, electrical, civil-structural, mechanical and piping, among others, architectural design, 3D technology, procurement and on-site engineering.

On January 14, 2015, the company INIMA-CVV S.A. was awarded the EPC Marine Works and Desalination Plant contract, for the detailed engineering, supply of equipment and materials, construction and commissioning of a seawater desalination plant, tendered by Codelco, in the sector of km 14 of Route 1 from Tocopilla.

The objective of the state-owned company was to supply RT-Codelco’s industrial water reservoir, to provide water for its current operations and for its sixth structural project: RT Sulphide’s.

The project developed by PA Engineering considered the design of a desalination plant from the seawater intake to the product water, ready for impulsion. The detailed engineering necessary for the final design and detailed planning of the acquisitions, construction and commissioning of the desalination plant and its maritime seawater catchment and brine discharge works was developed. The maritime works were designed to support at least a future production of desalinated water of 163,350 m3/day, equivalent to 1,890 l/s. In turn, the plant would have the particularity of producing water in steps reaching up to 840 l/s, reaching a production of 2,177,280 m3/month.

Empresa Portuaria San Antonio (EPSA) hired the services of PA Engineering to develop the urbanization of the areas acquired during 2009, located south of the Port of San Antonio, which are oriented to the development of logistics activities.

This area, of approximately 65 hectares, is used for activities such as: cargo warehouses, truck parking spaces and service distribution centres. This allowed an organic and sustained growth of the Port.

The engineering included the development of soil mechanics, civil development of earthworks, road design, design of electrical system for lighting, possibility of installing reefer containers and sanitary design, among others.

Additionally, the architecture of the service building was developed at the pre-design level.

The project aimed to improve the Evaporators area of the Constitución plant, to improve its operational availability and achieve a stable generation of black liquor with 70% solids to be burned in the recovery boiler. The main equipment has been purchased from the supplier Valmet Brazil. The project considers a net evaporation rate of 325 tons/h of water and a solids concentration of 70% virgin for Black Liquor.