Project Punta Arenas

MELON S.A., a reference manufacturer of cement, aggregates, and ready-mix concrete in Chile, is a private company listed on the Chilean Market and controlled by the Peruvian BRECA Industrial Group that belongs to the holding of the BRESCIA family. Currently employing over 1000 staff across Chile, the production and distribution activities of MELON S.A. are based at the company’s full plant in La Calera, with two grinding units at the sites of Ventanas and Puerto Montt and several batching and aggregate plants for ready mix preparation across the country.

After the success of the Puerto Montt project, MELON S.A decided to replicate the experience with CEMENGAL, but this time with an order placed for a new Plug&Grind® XTREME modular grinding unit to be installed at the new industrial site located at the outskirts of Punta Arenas, a city in Southern Chile with oil reserves close by, along with some fishing and agricultural activities and strong tourism and Antarctic-related activities.

Punta Arenas is the capital city of Chile’s southernmost region, on the border of Magallanes Chanel and Chilean Antarctic Region. Due to its location, Punta Arenas has a climate bordering between subpolar oceanic and tundra. The seasonal temperature in Punta Arenas is severe in wintertime, with daily temperatures ranging between 0°C and -15°C, and the highest temperature in summertime (December and January) often hardly reaches 20°C. The city is also known for its strong winds (up to 130 km/h), which are strongest during the spring.

The modular mill Plug&Grind XTREME plant was delivered by CEMENGAL at the site of Punta Arenas and the construction and installation activities of the unit have reached completion. The industrial grinding project awarded to CEMENGAL included all the mechanical, electrical and automation equipment necessary for a modular ball mill circuit with 300 000 tpy of capacity and a latest generation classifier for high strength cements, like the MELON Extra l premium product marketed by the client in Chile.

As a result of the portability, modular configuration, and short delivery time, MELON S.A. was able to reduce the cost and duration of the overall project in order to satisfy cement demand for local projects by early 2021. Other technical risks associated with industrial projects like demurrages on logistics, site installation and construction of deep foundations were also mitigated. The Plug&Grind XTREME plant includes the most modern technologies for cement grinding, separation and filtration to achieve enhanced performance values in terms of production capacity for ultrafine cements, reduction of power consumption and efficient recovery of dust in accordance with European environmental regulations.

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Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/special-reports/19012022/project-punta-arenas/