Ecometales, a Codelco subsidiary, has awarded a contract to Endress+Hauser

pH sensors with Memosens technology constitute a large part of Ecometales' purchase

Ecometales, an engineering company wholly owned by Codelco, is responsible for the "Arsenic and Antimony Dejection and Waste Disposal Facility" project realized at the Calama City facility. The company awarded an order of flow sensors, nuclear densimeters, level switches and instruments for liquid analysis worth US$600,000 to Endress+Hauser.

Endress+Hauser has supplied Ecometales, formerly called Alliance Copper Limited, with instruments for the control of various parameters since the company started its operation. The smelting dust treatment for copper recovery is a good example for the involvement of the Endress+Hauser Group in the promotion of industrial processes through biotechnology. The Group is headquartered in Reinach, Switzerland, and operates in many industries including mining.

The Project

Ecometales has processed more than 200,000 tons of smelting dust recovering 40,000 tons of copper during the last 4 years.

The new facility will serve the separation of arsenic and antimony from smelting dust as well as the disposal of effluents from the Codelco Norte refinery. The technological process employed is considered to be the most efficient and safe in the industry. The stable waste is subsequently deposited in dedicated dumps. The new facility is scheduled to start operating during the third quarter of 2011.