Dominican Republic: Gold Giants Develop Property

Four 780-tonne autoclaves delivered and installed in 35 months

Transporting the three-story-high autoclaves to the Pueblo Viejo site required permanent infrastructure upgrades, including construction of three new bridges and stabilization of every road between the port and mine

The Pueblo Viejo gold project is a refractory gold deposit in the Dominican Republic with sizeable levels of silver and copper to be recovered using pressure oxidation technology. The mine is approximately 100 kilometres northwest of the capital city of Santo Domingo. Barrick Gold Corporation holds a 60 percent interest, while Goldcorp Inc. owns the remaining 40 percent.

The mine’s life is expected to be more than 25 years with annual production of about one million ounces per year during the first five years.

Hatch provided engineering, procurement and construction management services for the pressure oxidation and air separation unit (ASU), including four autoclave trains and a 4,000-tonne-per-day ASU plant.

At 780 tonnes each, the brick-lined autoclaves are some of the largest ever built. They were delivered to site and installed in August and November 2010.