Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) today announced that it has been awarded a
contract worth more than $700 million to provide engineering,
procurement and construction management services on a project to process
marginal ore at the world's largest operating copper mine in northern
Chile. The contract was awarded by Minera Escondida, a Chilean
joint-venture mining company owned by an international consortium led by
BHP Billiton. Fluor booked the award in the company's second quarter.
The project will allow use of a proprietary leaching process on marginal
run-of-mine sulphide ore from the existing Escondida pit, located 100
miles from the port city of Antofagasta, and a second, nearby pit
currently in development. The resulting leachate will be further treated
by project-supplied solvent extraction and electrowinning facilities to
produce copper cathodes that will be exported to customers. Production
is planned to begin in the second half of 2006. Also included in the
project is a seawater desalination plant and pipeline that will provide
additional process water to the Escondida mine site. The plant will be
located at Minera Escondida's existing port facility near Antofagasta.
"This is a significant award for Fluor's mining group in South America.
It continues our relationship with Escondida and confirms our position
as a premier supplier of engineering, procurement, construction and
management services to the mining industry in this region," said Dwayne
Wilson, a senior vice president within Fluor's Industrial group.
The project is the latest in a series of major projects awarded to Fluor
since the company was commissioned to design and build the original mine
and processing plant in 1988.
Fluor is executing the work out of its offices in Santiago, Chile.
BHP Billiton manages the Escondida operation on behalf of an
international consortium, which is made up of BHP Billiton with 57.5
percent ownership, Rio Tinto with 30 percent, JECO with 10 percent and
International Finance Corporation with 2.5 percent.
Fluor provides services on a global basis in the fields of engineering,
procurement, construction, operations, maintenance and project
management. Headquartered in Aliso Viejo, Calif., Fluor is a FORTUNE 500
company with revenues of nearly $9 billion in 2003. For more
information, visit www.fluor.com.
For further information, please contact: Media Relations, Jerry
Holloway, +1-949-349-7411, or Leann Vandergrift, +1-949-349-7420, or
Investor Relations, Lila Churney, +1-949-349-3909, or fax,
+1-949-349-5375, all of Fluor Corporation.
Media Relations, Jerry Holloway, +1-949-349-7411, or LeannVandergrift, +1-949-349-7420, or Investor Relations, Lila Churney,+1-949-349-3909, or fax, +1-949-349-5375, all of Fluor Corporation//Web site: http://www.fluor.com /