:: ABB Wins Multi Million Dollar Contract for Copper Project in Chile

CODELCO chooses ABB for their electro-winning Gaby copper oxide plant

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, announced today that it has won an order for the supply of rectifier systems for Codelco's Gaby plant.

Codelco is the world=92s largest producer of copper with a production capacity of more than 1.73 million tons of refined copper per year. Codelco has the largest copper reserves worldwide, representing around 20% of the total. The project will require a total investment of USD 900 million.

The purpose of the Gaby project is to exploit and process oxide copper resources located in the Second Region of Chile, 120 km south of Calama and 203 km east of Antofagasta. It is an open pit operation with ore processed trough heap leaching piles and a Solvent Extraction/Electro Winning (SX/EW) plant to produce high quality cathodes.

ABB's scope of supply comprises four 40kA / 270 VDC rectifiers for the electro-winning plant. Furthermore ABB will deliver four rectifier transformers, a harmonic filter, a harmonic filter engineering study, as well as commissioning and start-up services. Commissioning is scheduled for the beginning of 2008. The production capacity will then be raised up to 150=92000 tons of copper cathodes annually.