Barrick Gold Corporation, the largest gold mining company in the world, through its subsidiary Barrick Exploraciones Argentina S.A. (BEASA) has awarded Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies, through its subsidiaries Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies Argentina and Whittier Filtration, a contract to deliver one of the largest filtration systems of its kind for the Pascua Lama project, located on the border between Argentina and Chile. The remote location site offers some unique challenges of severe climates at an elevation of 4000 meters above sea level. The system was delivered in January, 2011.
Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies will provide 10 Whittier Filtration Filtra-Matic™ pressure leaf filters, with 3,400 feet of surface area each and a capacity, to treat 6,600 m3/hour of gold and silver-bearing sodium cyanide leaching solution for a Merrill Crowe process. The design of the filters allows easy access to the internal filter leaves for maintenance with an automatic retracting shell. Precoat media offers very fine filtration and is retained on 640 high-quality stainless steel pressure leaf elements.
Through its worldwide network of business units, Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies is active in all major mining countries and is able to resolve process filtration and all water issues that mining customers face, making the group the global reference for solution treatment in mining areas. Understanding the unique requirements of mine operations and process design, Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies Argentina and Whittier Filtration were able to meet this unique project´s most demanding reliability, safety and quality standards.