Cerro Dominador to turn dust into cathodes

Chile's Minera Cerro Dominador has submitted an environmental impact statement to regulator Conama for a US$1.5mn project to produce copper cathodes from dust particles emitted by a smelter operated by state copper corporation Codelco. The objective is to allow Cerro Dominador, whose own mineral reserves are exhausted, to keep operating its SX-EW plant at the rate of 16t/d cathodes, according to the document. The plant is located in the Sierra Gorda district of northern Chile's Region II. The dust, some 115t/d of it, will come from Codelco's nearby Chuquicamata smelter, where the emissions are captured, and be transported to the plant by truck. The project has an initial design life of just three to four months, but after that the company says it will seek other sources to feed the plant. Cerro Dominador is owned by Chile's Callejas family.