BHP Hires Bechtel to Build Water Plant for Chile Copper Mine
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BHP Billiton Ltd. hired Bechtel Group Inc. to build a water desalination plant needed to boost production at Escondida, the world’s biggest copper mine.
Bechtel will construct the plant at Escondida’s Coloso port, it said today in an e-mailed statement. Water will be taken to the mine site 114 miles (183 kilometers) inland along a 42-inch pipe. The project also includes four high-pressure pumping stations, a high-voltage power line running along the water pipeline and electrical substations, the contractor said.