Facility

BHP Escondida Water Supply Desalination Plant (Punta Patache, Antofagasta)

BHP's Escondida Water Supply (EWS) desalination plant at Punta Patache on the Atacama coast; commissioned 2017, expanded; ~$3.4B total infrastructure investment including the 170 km pipeline and 3,500-meter elevation pump system to the Escondida mine. Capacity: ~1,400 liters/second of desalinated seawater pumped to the world's largest copper mine. Consumes enormous electricity from Chile's Northern Interconnected System grid — the energy cost of pumping water 3,500 meters is the primary operating cost. A single desalination plant now provides the critical water supply to a mine producing ~5% of global copper. Escondida mine: 1,000+ liters of water per tonne of ore processed. Source: https://www.bhp.com/what-we-do/projects-and-operations/our-operations/chile-copper