Supplying Water for Spence Mine in Chile

Due to envi­ron­men­tal concerns and the shortage of water in the northern part of Chile, some mining companies, such as BHP, have decided to supply their mine operations using desali­na­tion plants. In some cases, these companies outsource operational water supply through a BOOT (build – own – operate - transfer) contract, where a third-party oversees the design, construc­tion, financing and operation of the water conveyance system, all the way from the desali­na­tion plant to the mine site within a certain period. This is the case of the Spence Mine (Spence Growth Options Project), where the water supply is desalinated water through a 20-year BOOT contract. CDM Smith has provided BHP with engineering support from the iden­ti­fi­ca­tion and evaluation process of world-class joint ventures for the award of a BOOT contract, to the execution of the project, and now during the operation phase.

The project comprises a desali­na­tion plant (which can process 1,000 litres per second), marine works, a system for pumping the desalinated water over 150 kilometres, and an electrical supply system. The CDM Smith team is providing:

Procurement Support

• Technical, commercial and financial support during the bidding process
• Bid forms development and Q&A rounds support
• Strategic, technical, commercial and financial support during the BOOT contract development
• Development of the proposal evaluation methodology
• Proposals evaluation
• Support during the negotiation and awarding process

Assistance during the Execution Phase

• Technical Submittals Review
• Assistance during construction and commissioning

Assistance during the Operation Phase

• O&M Documents Review
• Technical assistance during operation