Project infrastructure included upgrading a 104-kilometer road from the Chinese border to the site; building a 1,000-liters-per-second pipeline from a borefield; 80 kilometers from the site; setting up housing facilities for more than 10,000 workers; and establishing 80 square kilometers of site development that included an airstrip, roads, concrete batch plants, water and wastewater systems, associated electrical power distribution, and two mining shafts 1,800 meters each in depth.
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Fluor provided the water and wastewater systems to support this expansive project. The systems included:
Raw Water - Water demand for the Oyu Tolgoi facility was calculated to between 588 L/s to 785 L/s with an average yearly demand of 696 L/s to meet 100 Ktpd production capacity. The primary source of raw water to meet these requirements is supplied from the Gunii Hooloi basin, which extends 35 kilometers to 70 kilometers north of the Oyu Tolgoi site. Bores were developed in two distinct areas of the Gunii Hooloi borefield, the southeast and the northeast areas.
Water Treatment - A permanent water treatment and bottling plant was constructed to treat raw water from the Gunii Hooloi borefield to drinking (potable) and domestic water standards. The plant consists of two areas, the Water Storage and Pump Station and the Water Treatment and Bottling Plant.
Water Storage and Pump Station - The water storage tanks and pump station area contain two raw and fire water storage tanks, two domestic water tanks, the fire water pump station, and domestic water pumps station.
Fire Water - Fire water storage tanks and pump stations were established in the main functional areas of the site including:
- Concentrator
- Site entrance and construction camp
- Site warehouse and truck shop
- Underground mine
Potable Water - Potable water is intended for routine drinking and is provided in 20 L bottles. It meets Mongolian Standards and WHO guidelines for drinking water quality. Raw water from the raw water tanks is pumped to the plant and treated. Treatment includes dosing, multi-media and granular activated carbon filtration, micro filtration, reverse osmosis treatment, ultraviolet sterilization and ozone disinfection prior to bottling and onward distribution. The total output of the treatment facility is 8 m3/h.
Domestic Water - The domestic water plant supplies water used for washing, cleaning, flushing toilets, etc. It is not intended for routine drinking, but it was treated to potable standards. Domestic water is produced at an average flow rate is 70 m3/h with a peak flow rate of 125-150 m3/h. The water produced by this plant meets Mongolian standards and WHO guidelines for physical and microbial drinking water and chlorine disinfection standards. Treatment included dosing, multi-media and granular activated carbon filtration and chlorine disinfection prior to distribution to the construction camp and remainder of Oyu Tolgoi site via utility pipes.