Chilean state-owned mining company Codelco has deployed a new concrete solution, designed by Penetron Admix on its large-scale sulfide concentrator at the Spence mine, Chile. 

Penetron said the completion of Codelco concentrator, along with other upgrades, means it can start extracting from the mine by the end of 2021. 

Penetron said designed the concentrator's contrate tank with "rigorous" specifications due to the "aggressive physical and electrochemical processes" used to extract copper from its ores.

These were needed as it wanted to ensure a "durable, long-lasting concrete structure" under the aggressive conditions of copper ore processing.

Penetron Admix used a specific waterproofing solution to meet the extraction demands because the original pore sealer product "did not meet the project's required permeability standards", according to Domingo Lema, managing director of Pentron Chile.

The solution seals microcracks, pores and capillaries against water or water-soluble corrosive chemicals from any direction, protecting the concrete and embedded reinforcing steel from deterioration. 

The concentrator is part of a $52 million expansion, known as the Spence Growth Option (SGO), completed in July 2021.

In addition to the concentrator, the SGO included pit upgrades and improvements to the mine's waste dump and powder magazine; it will extend the service of the mine by approximately 50 years, the company claimed. 

Codelco is the largest producer of copper in the world and accounts for 10% of global output. The Spence mine has an annual capacity of approximately 200,000 tonnes of copper.