what are they waiting for?, page-2

Just reading the thread on Copper origins in Chile and it just occured to me that the worlds largest Molybdenum processing operations are in Chile run bu Molymet.

Short extract http://www.min-eng.com/commodities/metallic/molybdenum/news/4.html

"Molymet operates an integrated refining facility located at Nos, approximately 30 kilometers south of Santiago, Chile. The refinery treats molybdenum concentrates to make final upgraded molybdenum products as well as cathode copper by-product from SX-EW operations. In addition, Molymet currently operates a zero liquid discharge waste water treatment plant, through a reverse osmosis plant, integrated with evaporation and crystallization, to remove sulphate and other salts in the final waste water treatment stage prior to water recycle.

The sulphate removal plant can be integrated into the existing infrastructure at Molymets Nos refinery to replace the reverse osmosis system. The plant will be built and commissioned in three consecutive stages; each stage is expected to generate savings compared to the current treatment cost. Engineering for the design report for the first stage, to remove calcium, is in progress. Concurrent with engineering for the first stage plant, testing will continue in order to define critical design parameters for the second stage plant, to remove and recover ammonia from the waste water, and the third stage plant, to incorporate the final step of the Sulf-IX?process to achieve the target concentration of sulphate of 250 mg/L in the treated water to meet NCH1333 guidelines.

Molibdenos y Metales S.A. (Molymet) is a Chilean corporation listed on the Santiago Stock exchange. The company processes molybdenum concentrates, with production facilities in Chile, Mexico, Belgium and Germany. Gross revenues for 2006 were over US$ 2 billion. Molybdenum concentrates from all over the world are treated at the plants for the production of technical molybdic oxide, ferromolybdenum, high purity molybdenum chemicals and molybdenum metal powders. These products are supplied to the steel, petrochemical catalysts and specialty metal manufacturing industries worldwide. At the Nos plant near Santiago, molybdenum concentrates are roasted to produce technical molybdenum oxide, molybdenum oxide briquettes, ferromolybdenum and high purity molybdenum chemicals. Yearly roasting capacity at this location is 94 million pounds of molybdenum contained in concentrates (approximately 88,000 MT of concentrates per year). The Nos complex is also equipped with a leaching plant and a concentrate cleaning plant, which allow copper removal from the molybdenum products. The copper is then recovered at a SX - EW plant as high quality copper cathodes."

Molymet were developing major process of refining on site at Nos so this could put them back years also.

Expect to have some more ripples about Molybdenum operations in Chile assuming that the 8.8 left Molymets operations down not to mention the infrastructure damages that could take years to repair.
The 94 million pounds could throw a big spanner into the moly world price.