OPTIMUM is proud to have played a part in the successful completion of an impressive HDD crossing in the north Chilean desert last week to install a 945-metre-long, DN 1200 pipe under the Loa River.
Drilled by Techint Engineering & Construction, supported onsite by BM Drilling Services, the HDD lies 32 metres under the riverbed, itself some 35 metres beneath the surrounding natural ground level. The crossing also passes under a high voltage electricity power line as well as the desert highway.
Techint Engineering & Construction commissioned OPTIMUM to conduct a detailed engineering study – including drill path optimisation, hydrofracture analysis, calculation notes – to validate the feasibility of the trenchless operations, given the geological and geotechnical constraints of the site, notably the risks of instability and abrasion when drilling through fractured / weathered sandstone.
The crossing forms part of the CODELCO – Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile’s project to install a reverse osmosis desalination plant to supply water to its mining operations in the region, thereby significantly reducing continental water consumption.
