Foster Wheeler wins engineering deal in Chile for new molybdenum refinery

Foster Wheeler was awarded a contract for engineering, procurement and related services on a grassroots molybdenum refinery in Chile, the company said on Tuesday.

The contract was awarded by MOLYB Ltd., an affiliate company of CODELCO, the Chilean Copper Corp., the world's largest copper producing company and also a leading molybdenum concentrate producer. 

The new facility, planned to be one of the largest of its kind, will be located near Mejillones in northern Chile.

The terms of the award were not disclosed. The contract value was included in the company's third-quarter 2013 bookings.

Foster Wheeler will undertake detailed engineering and provide procurement assistance and field engineering services for the new refinery, which is planned to process and refine 16,000 tpy of molybdenum feedstock, obtained from various CODELCO copper concentrator plants, expected to yield molybdenum as well as copper, rhenium and sulfuric acid as by-products. 

Molybdenum and rhenium are used in electronics, special steels, petroleum refineries and the aerospace industry. 

Foster Wheeler’s scope of work is scheduled to be completed during the second quarter of 2015.

“This latest award is a further important step in the extension of our Minerals and Metals track record and in the further development of our already excellent working relationship with CODELCO,” said Dave Lawson, president of minerals and metals for Foster Wheeler. 

“This award reflects CODELCO's continued confidence in the quality of our technical expertise in minerals processing and our project execution," he added.