Treatment of process water of a copper mine, Chile

In one of the biggest copper mines in the world the process water accumulated during copper mining is contaminated with sulphate and molybdenum. Up to today the contaminated process water has been channeled to plantations for evaporation.

New requirements in mining laws for the protection of the environment demand that the water be treated and that corresponding plans to avoid further contaminations of the environment in this region are drawn up.

In the first quarter of the year 2007 a pilot plant of a Constructed Wetland for the treatment of process water developed by BioPlanta started operation. Moreover, BioPlanta is going to take over monitoring the project until the end of 2007.