Codelco: Ventanas Smelter will advance maintenance to ensure operational plan

Codelco press release

This is an automated translation of the original press release issued in Spanish

Foundry Ventanas will advance its general maintenance to ensure compliance with the Operational Plan

The new Operational Plan -more restrictive than the previous one- has forced a greater number of stoppages and therefore greater effort and wear and tear has been put on the foundry equipment.

Puchuncaví, September 9, 2022.- Given the high demands of the Operational Plan approved at the beginning of July, the Ventanas smelter has had to restrict its operations and make a greater number of detentions based on the weather conditions and contingencies of the industrial pole. This has had an impact on the plant's facilities, which are subject to greater wear and therefore the possibility of failures and other operational risks increases.

Due to the foregoing, in order to protect the safety of its workers, avoid impacts on the environment and prevent damage to equipment, the company decided to advance from this week the major maintenance of the smelter, initially scheduled for October this year, which will last for approximately 100 days. This stoppage does not affect the refinery and the other plant processes, which will continue to operate.

It should be noted that general maintenance are scheduled procedures that are performed approximately every two years. In the case of the Ventanas smelter, the last one was carried out at the end of 2020, which is why a new maintenance must be carried out during the second half of this year.

With this decision, Codelco reiterates its commitment to the safety and care of its workers, as well as to the protection of the environment and the health of the population.

Codelco