SNC wins contract to build two sulphuric acid plants in Chile

MONTREAL—SNC-Lavalin Inc. has won a contract with Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile, better known as Codelco, to build a pair of sulphuric acid plants at one of the company’s copper facilities in northern Chile.

The plants will treat off-gas from the Chuquicamata Copper Smelter Complex in the South American country’s Antofagasta region and employ technology from chemical giant DuPont. The pair of new plants will replace two others currently operating the smelter. Each facility will be capable of producing up to 2048 metric tonnes of sulphuric acid per day.

The contract is the second major deal SNC and Codelco have announced this month; the Montreal-based construction company disclosed a deal to build a new effluent treatment plant at the same Chilean smelting facility last week.

SNC did not release the value of the contract, but said it expects construction to begin early next year.