Two of the world's leading mining houses are developing a circuit in an attempt to find an economically attractive hydrometallurgical alternative to the smelting of copper sulphide concentrates. Back in 1997 what is now Vale Inco Ltd approached Cominco Engineering Services Ltd (CESL) to evaluate the possible use of the latter's process on Vale's ore bodies - and in particular the undeveloped, high fluoride Salobo project in the Brazilian state of Para. After extensive testing in the Canadian city of Vancouver, Vale decided to construct a 10,000 tonne per annum plant to treat red metal concentrates from a similar ore body to prove the process on a semi-industrial scale prior to committing to a full production facility capable of a 250,000 tpa output.
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